.IBRARY  V 

DIVERSITY  OF 
:ALIFC"J"AV 
\NTA 


Mr.  Whittier  in  1845 


LIFE  AND  LETTERS 


OF 


JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER 


BY 


SAMUEL  T.  PICKARD 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOLUME    I. 


BOSTON  AND   NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND   COMPANY 

£bc  litocrsiDc  press,  Cambridge 


Copyright,  1894, 
BY  SAMUEL  T.  PICKARD. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghtou  and  Company. 


PREFACE 

THE  thought  that  at  some  time  the  story  of  his 
life  would  be  called  for  was  not  a  pleasant  one 
to  Mr.  Whittier ;  but  fearing  that,  in  the  absence 
of  correct  data,  a  biography  full  of  inaccuracies 
might  be  given  to  the  public,  about  ten  years 
before  his  death  he  authorized  the  collection  of 
material  for  such  a  work,  and  assisted  the  friend 
to  whom  it  was  confided  by  suggestions  of  a  gen- 
eral character.  He  had  never  kept  a  journal,  nor 
charged  his  memory  with  dates,  but  he  remembered 
his  correspondents,  and  gave  information  which 
resulted  in  a  large  collection  of  letters,  illustrating 
nearly  every  year  of  his  life.  The  editor  has  re- 
garded the  use  of  this  material  as  a  sacred  trust, 
and  in  accordance  with  Mr.  Whittier's  wish  has 
allowed  him,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  speak  for 
himself. 

In  editorial  work,  and  in  his  correspondence,  he 
always  expressed  himself  freely  upon  every  sub- 
ject which  interested  him.  His  familiar  and  un- 
studied letters  have  special  value,  revealing  as 
they  do  the  warmth  and  steadfastness  of  his  friend- 
ships, the  genuineness  of  his  sympathy,  his  earnest- 
ness  in  philanthropic  reforms,  the  spontaneity 


iv  PREFACE 

of  his  humor,  and  his  constant  interest  in  public 
affairs. 

Mr.  Whittier's  editorial  work  upon  partisan 
papers  developed  a  taste  for  politics  and  ambition 
for  political  preferment,  as  shown  by  letters  now 
for  the  first  time  published.  These  letters  do  not 
fairly  represent  him  when  judged  by  the  tenor  of 
his  later  life,  but  without  them  we  could  have  no 
true  idea  of  his  early  manhood,  and  of  the  great 
change  which  marked  his  religious,  literary,  and 
political  life  when  about  twenty-seven  years  of 
age.  Previous  to  this  time,  while  irreproachable 
in  morals,  no  deep  conviction  of  duty  seems  to 
have  nerved  him  to  self-denying,  heroic  action. 
He  was  evidently  looking  forward  to  a  political 
rather  than  a  literary  career.  Comparatively  little 
has  hitherto  been  known  of  the  first  thirty  years 
of  his  life,  beyond  the  fact  that  he  edited  political 
papers  in  Boston,  Haverhill,  and  Hartford,  and  it 
may  surprise  his  friends  of  the  present  generation 
to  find  that  he  was  an  aspirant  for  congressional 
honors,  which,  but  for  the  constitutional  limit  as 
to  age,  he  had  a  fair  prospect  of  obtaining,  in  a 
district  where  he  enjoyed  exceptional  popularity. 
As  a  power  in  politics,  even  when  working  in  a 
small  minority,  Whittier  has  never  been  rightly 
estimated.  In  several  of  his  poems  he  speaks  of 
his  consecration  to  the  cause  of  freedom  as  involv- 
ing a  change  in  all  the  motives  of  his  life;  but 


PREFACE  v 

this  has  not  hitherto  been  taken  so  literally  as  it 
will  now  be  seen  was  intended.  While  his  serious 
work  at  this  period  was  in  politics,  he  was  at  the 
same  time  winning  reputation  as  a  poet,  by  verses 
which,  though  highly  complimented  by  poets  and 
critics  of  national  repute,  were  suppressed  by  the 
more  cultivated  taste  and  judgment  of  his  later 
years. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  we  find  him  entering 
upon  a  contest  in  which  every  talent  was  to  be 
used  as  a  weapon  of  assault  against  a  system  which 
he  had  no  reason  to  suppose  would  be  overthrown 
in  his  day.  In  this  field,  the  skill  he  had  acquired 
in  politics  was  not  thrown  away,  and  we  can  read- 
ily understand  why  he  favored  the  political  wing 
of  the  anti-slavery  forces.  With  his  genius  for 
statecraft,  nothing  else  could  have  been  expected, 
and  the  reader  can  but  admire  the  skill  he  exer- 
cised in  keeping  his  despised  cause  before  the  peo- 
ple, and  compelling  the  unwilling  help  of  able 
men,  who  at  heart  were  opposed  to  his  aims  and 
measures.  As  the  trusted  adviser  of  statesmen, 
the  extent  of  his  influence  has  never  been  fully 
appreciated  beyond  the  circle  of  his  intimate 
friends. 

To  those  who  have  loved  Whittier  as  a  poet 
whose  utterances  have  quickened  their  religious 
spirit,  and  given  expression  to  their  highest  and 
holiest  aspirations,  the  pages  of  this  memoir  de- 


vi  PREFACE 

voted  to  his  political  activities,  and  a  reform  long 
since  happily  accomplished,  may  seem  of  small  in- 
terest, and  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  experi- 
ence and  labors  of  the  years  thus  spent,  with  their 
important  bearing  upon  the  development  of  his 
character,  could  not  be  lightly  passed  over. 

The  editor  would  express  his  sincere  thanks  for 
the  kind  courtesy  of  relatives  and  friends  of  Mr. 
Whittier,  in  placing  at  his  disposal  letters  and 
other  interesting  material  for  the  preparation  of 
this  memoir.  He  would  also  acknowledge  the 
valuable  assistance  of  Mr.  Whittier's  cousin,  Ger- 
trude Whittier  Cartland.  No  one  now  living 
enjoyed  longer  the  intimate  friendship  of  the  poet, 
or  was  more  fully  in  his  confidence  and  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  religious,  philanthropic,  and  literary 
work. 

S.  T.  P. 

PORTLAND,  MAINE,  September,  1894. 


CONTENTS. 


VOL.  I. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.    1807-1826        .        .  1 

II.   SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES.     1820-1828  41 

III.  EDITORIAL    EXPERIENCE    AND    LITERARY    VEN- 

TURES.    1828-1832 73 

IV.  ENLISTMENT    IN    THE    WAR   AGAINST    SLAVERY. 

1832-1837 119 

V.  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS.    1836-1838  .        .        .158 

VI.  EDITORIAL  WORK  IN  PHILADELPHIA.     1837-1840  215 

VII.  A  DECADE  OF  WORK  AT  HOME.     1840-1850     .  255 

VIII.  POETRY  AND  POLITICS.    1850-1856                        .  347 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


VOL.  I. 

PAGE 

JOHN    GREENLEAF   WHITTIER.      From   a  daguerreotype 
taken  in  the  winter  of  1845  ....  Frontispiece 

WHITTIER  HOMESTEAD  AT   HAVERHILL,  MASS.     From  a 
photograph  by  A.  A.  Ordway    ......       16 

MATTHEW    FRANKLIN    WHITTIER.     From  a  photograph      32 
MERCY  HUSSEY.     From  a  silhouette         ....          34 

MARY  WHITTIER  CALDWELL.     From  a  photograph  .        .       48 
ELIZABETH  HUSSEY  WHITTIER.     From  a  crayon  portrait 

by  A.  L.  McPhail 96 

MR.  WHITTIER'S  RESIDENCE  AT  AMESBURY.   From  a  pho- 
tograph       158 

JOSEPH  STURGE.     From  an  engraving      ....        268 
CHARLES  SUMNER.   From  a  photograph  by  J.  W.  Black,  of 

Boston 356 

JAMES  T.  FIELDS.     From  a  photograph  by  Mrs.  Cameron    396 


LITE  AND  LETTEKS 

OF 

JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD. 

1807-1826. 

JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER  was  born  on  the 
17th  of  December,  1807,  in  a  house  built  by  his 
paternal  ancestor,  in  the  East  Parish  of  Haverhill, 
Mass.  This  ancestor,  Thomas  Whittier,  was  the 
first  of  his  name  in  America,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  been  of  Huguenot  descent.  He  was  born  in 
England  in  1620,  and  came  to  this  country  when 
eighteen  years  of  age.  He  sailed  from  Southamp- 
ton, England,  for  Boston,  Mass.,  in  the  ship  Con- 
fidence, April  24,  1638.  Among  his  companions 
on  this  voyage  were  his  uncles,  John  and  Henry 
Rolfe,  and  a  distant  relative,  Ruth  Green,  whom 
he  married  a  few  years  after  his  arrival,  and  whose 
name  appears  in  every  subsequent  generation.  He 
settled  in  Salisbury,  Mass.,  on  land  now  within  the 
limits  of  the  town  of  Amesbury  and  bordering  on 
the  Powow  River,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Merri- 
mac.  The  hill  which  to  this  day  bears  his  name 


2  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

was  included  in  the  grant  he  received.  It  is  a  tra- 
dition in  the  family  that  he  was  a  man  of  gigantic 
size,  weighing  more  than  three  hundred  pounds 
before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  he  was 
possessed  of  great  muscular  strength.  It  is  certain 
also  that  he  had  a  high  degree  of  both  moral  and 
physical  courage. 

He  was  sent  as  a  deputy  to  the  General  Court 
from  Salisbury,  and  served  his  town  in  other 
offices  of  trust.  Eemoving  across  the  Merrimac, 
he  lived  for  a  short  time  in  the  town  of  Newbury. 
In  1647,  he  took  up  his  permanent  residence  in  the 
town  of  Haverhill,  and  was  again  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Merrimac,  about  ten  miles  above  his 
former  home  in  Salisbury.  As  before,  he  settled 
a  mile  or  two  from  the  "  great  river,"  and  upon 
the  bank  of  a  small  affluent  now  known  as 
"  Country  Brook,"  but  then  as  "  East  Meadow 
Brook."  His  first  house  was  built  of  logs,  and 
situated  about  half  a  mile  southeast  of  the  present 
"  Whittier  homestead."  Here  all  but  the  eldest  of 
his  ten  children  were  born.  He  had  five  sons,  all 
possessing  the  stalwart  proportions  of  their  father, 
each  of  them  being  more  than  six  feet  in  height. 

In  this  log  house  he  lived  with  his  large  family 
until  about  sixty-eight  years  of  age,  when  he  began 
to  hew  the  oaken  beams  for  a  new  and  more  capa- 
cious dwelling.  The  site  which  he  selected  was 
near  by,  upon  the  bank  of  a  pretty  rivulet,  tum- 
bling in  a  series  of  cascades  through  a  ravine  run- 
ning along  the  north  base  of  Job's  Hill.  In  this 
retired  and  picturesque  spot  he  built  the  house 
which  he  occupied  until  his  death,  November  28, 


THOMAS    WHITTIER  8 

1696,  and  which  has  sheltered  generation  after 
generation  of  his  descendants.  The  erection  of  the 
new  house  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  1688.  The 
foundations  of  the  log  house  built  by  his  pioneer 
ancestor,  the  poet  used  to  see  in  his  youth,  but  he 
was  unable  to  find  them  when  last  visiting  the 
place,  in  1882. 

Haverhill  was  first  settled  in  1640,  and  was  for 
seventy  years  a  frontier  town,  an  unbroken  wil- 
derness stretching  to  the  north  for  more  than  a 
hundred  miles.  During  the  first  forty  years  of 
the  settlement,  there  was  no  trouble  from  the  Indi- 
ans who  fished  in  the  lakes  and  hunted  among 
the  mountains  of  New  Hampshire ;  but  during 
the  next  thirty  years  they  were  frequently  hos- 
tile, and  Haverhill  suffered  all  the  horrors  that 
accompany  savage  warfare.  When  these  hostili- 
ties began,  in  1676,  Thomas  Whittier  had  been 
living  in  his  log  house  on  East  Meadow  Brook  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  receiving  frequent  visits  from 
the  Indians,  whose  respect  and  friendship  he  won 
by  the  fearlessness  and  justice  he  displayed  in  his 
dealings  with  them. 

When  friendly  intercourse  with  the  pioneers  was 
broken,  and  the  savages  began  to  make  their  fo- 
rays upon  this  exposed  settlement,  several  houses  in 
the  town  were  fitted  up  as  garrisons,  and  we  find 
that  in  1675  Thomas  Whittier  was  one  of  a  com- 
mittee appointed  to  select  the  houses  that  should  be 
fortified  as  places  of  refuge.  But  though  many  of 
his  townspeople  were  killed  or  carried  into  cap- 
tivity, he  never  availed  himself  of  this  shelter  for 
himself  or  his  family,  and  it  is  the  tradition  that 


4  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD 

he  did  not  even  bar  his  doors  at  night.  His  frame 
house,  now  standing,  was  built  in  the  midst  of  the 
Indian  troubles,  and  he  had  occupied  it  several 
years  before  the  principal  massacres,  the  records  of 
which  make  the  bloodiest  pages  in  the  annals  of 
Haverhill.  The  Hannah  Dustin  affair  occurred  in 
1697,  a  year  after  the  death  of  the  pioneer.  The 
Dustins  lived  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  re- 
mote from  the  Whittiers,  and  nearly  all  the  tragic 
events  of  these  troublous  times  in  Haverhill  were 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  East  Parish.  But  the  In- 
dians in  their  war  paint  occasionally  passed  up  the 
Country  Brook,  and  the  evening  firelight  in  the 
Whittier  kitchen  would  reveal  a  savage  face  at 
the  window.  But  this  household  was  never  harmed. 
Thomas  Whittier  was  a  contemporary  of  George 
Fox,  and  appears  to  have  had  much  respect  for 
the  doctrines  of  the  new  Society  of  Friends.  In 
1652,  he  was  among  the  petitioners  to  the  General 
Court  for  the  pardon  of  Robert  Pike,  who  had 
been  heavily  fined  for  speaking  against  the  order 
prohibiting  the  Quakers  Joseph  Peasley  and 
Thomas  Macy  from  exhorting  on  the  Lord's  Day. 
The  meetings  of  the  Quakers  had  been  held  in 
their  own  dwelling-houses.  A  petition  against  this 
order  had  been  signed  by  many  of  the  residents  of 
Haverhill,  and  when  it  was  presented  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  a  committee  of  that  body  was  appointed 
to  wait  upon  the  petitioners,  and  command  them  to 
withdraw  it  or  suffer  the  consequences.  Some  of 
them  did  retract  when  thus  called  upon,  but  two  of 
the  sixteen  who  refused  were  Thomas  Whittier  and 
Christopher  Hussey,  both  of  them  ancestors  of  the 


THOMAS   WHITTIER  5 

poet.  The  only  punishment  they  received  was 
withdrawal  for  some  years  of  their  rights  as  "  free- 
men." The  disability  in  the  case  of  Whittier 
was  removed  in  May,  1666,  when  he  took  the  oath 
of  citizenship.  The  franchise  at  this  time  was 
granted  only  to  those  who  were  named  as  worthy 
by  the  General  Court.  He  not  only  had  the  right 
to  vote,  but  was  an  office-holder  and  a  man  of  mark 
in  Salisbury  and  Newbury  for  many  years  previous 
to  his  residence  in  Haverhill,  and  had  also  been  a 
member  of  the  General  Court ;  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  delay  in  conferring  upon  him 
the  full  rights  of  citizenship  in  the  last-named 
town  was  due  to  doubts  respecting  his  orthodoxy. 
It  may  be  that  his  interest  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
new  sect  carried  him  beyond  the  point  of  desiring 
for  its  preachers  fair  play  and  freedom  of  utter- 
ance, but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  joined  the 
Society  of  Friends.  Indeed,  we  find  him  in  his 
later  years  acting  upon  the  ecclesiastical  commit- 
tees of  the  church  then  dominant  in  the  colony. 

His  capacity  for  civic  usefulness  was  recognized 
for  years  before  the  right  to  vote  was  conferred 
upon  him.  In  laying  out  roads,  fixing  the  bounds 
of  the  plantation,  and  in  other  ways,  his  engineer- 
ing skill  was  drawn  upon.  When  he  came  to 
Haverhill  from  Newbury,  in  1647,  it  was  consid- 
ered of  sufficient  importance  to  note  in  the  town 
records  the  fact  that  he  brought  with  him  a  hive 
of  bees  that  had  been  willed  to  him  by  his  uncle, 
Henry  Rolfe.  This  incident  seems  emblematic  of 
the  industry  and  thrift  which  have  so  largely 
characterized  his  posterity ;  and  it  has  furnished  a 


6  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

device  which  has  beeft  woven  by  some  members  of 
the  family  into  the  Whittier  monogram. 

His  youngest  son,  Joseph,  through  whom  we 
trace  the  poet's  lineage,  married,  in  1694,  Mary 
Peasley,  granddaughter  of  Joseph  Peasley,  the 
leading  Quaker  in  the  town,  and  one  of  the  ex- 
horters  for  whom  Thomas  Whittier  asked  in  vain 
the  clemency  of  the  General  Court  forty-two  years 
earlier.1  In  the  mean  time,  George  Fox  had  been 
preaching  in  America,  and  his  adherents  had  so 
increased  in  numbers  in  all  the  colonies  that 
further  persecution  was  out  of  the  question.  For 
four  generations  nearly  all  the  descendants  of 
Joseph  Whittier  retained  their  connection  with  the 
Society  of  Friends,  but  that  some  of  them  lost 
their  membership  is  shown  by  the  fact  of  their 
holding  military  titles  during  the  wars  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century. 

The  East  Parish  of  Haverhill  is  one  of  the  most 
rugged  and  hilly  sections  of  Essex  County.  Two 
centuries  ago,  as  now,  this  county  was  more  thickly 
populated  than  any  other  on  this  side  the  Atlantic 
that  included  no  great  city.  And  yet,  here  in  its 
northeast  corner  was  a  spot  so  isolated  that  from 
the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  Whittier  mansion 
to  the  present  time  no  neighbor's  roof  has  been  in 
sight  Whittier  refers  to  the  seclusion  in  "  Snow- 
Bound,"  where  he  says  :  — 

"  No  social  smoke 
Curled  over  woods  of  snow-hung1  oak." 

1  The  house  of  Joseph  Peasley,  Jr.,  the  father  of  Mary,  was 
built  of  hricks  brought  from  England,  and  is  still  standing  neat 
Rocks  Village  in  the  East  Parish.  It  was  used  as  a  garrison 
house  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars. 


HA  VERHILL  7 

While  thus  shut  in  from  the  busy  world,  there 
have  always  been  neighbors  within  half  a  mile,  and 
when  the  wind  favors,  the  bells  of  Haverhill  and 
Newburyport,  and  the  roar  of  the  storm  waves 
breaking  on  Salisbury  beach,  are  heard  in  this 
secluded  valley. 

In  a  letter  written  in  1881,  Mr.  Whittier  says 
of  the  Ayer  house,  which  is  the  nearest  to  the  old 
homestead,  that  it  was  built  within  his  remem- 
brance, and  that  he  recollected  well  the  old  gar- 
rison house  that  stood  in  the  same  place.  It  was 
of  two  stories,  with  only  a  single  room  below,  and 
two  small  diamond-paned  windows.  The  door  was 
of  massive  oak  plank,  and  the  entry  was  paved 
with  rough  flat  stones.  The  fireplace  occupied 
nearly  one  side  of  the  room.  The  ceiling  was  un- 
plastered. 

The  principal  settlement  of  Haverhill,  now  a 
city  of  about  28,000  inhabitants,  is  three  miles 
away.  The  town  originally  stretched  twelve  miles 
along  the  north  bank  of  the  Merrimac,  and  was  six 
miles  wide.  But  when  the  long-disputed  boundary 
between  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  was 
settled  by  royal  commissioners  appointed  in  1737, 
a  strip  only  three  miles  wide  north  of  the  river  fell 
to  the  share  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  northern 
half  was  given  to  New  Hampshire.  The  windings 
of  the  Merrimac  are  to  some  extent  followed  ty 
the  boundary  line,  with  the  result  that  the  East 
Parish  is  inclosed  in  an  elbow  of  the  river.  Three 
beautiful  ponds  separate  it  from  the  city  proper. 

The  rounded,  dome-like  summits  of  the  gravelly 
bills  were  in  the  days  of  the  pioneers,  and  indeed 


8  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

down  to  the  poet's  time,  covered  with  a  heavy  hard- 
wood growth,  the  oak  predominating.  In  Mr. 
Whittier's  youth  there  were  no  evergreens  on  the 
farm,  except  a  few  hemlocks.  But  upon  clearing 
an  acre  of  oaks  there  sprang  up  a  growth  of  white 
pine  covering  the  whole  tract,  —  the  only  pines  in 
the  neighborhood.  The  noble  elm  not  far  from 
the  house,  centuries  old,  but  still  flourishing,  its 
trunk  eighteen  feet  in  circumference  at  the  small" 
est  point,  and  casting  a  shadow  at  noonday  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  diameter,  is  known  as  "  the  "Whittier 
elm." 

Thomas  "Whittier's  widow  died  in  July,  1710. 
After  the  estate  had  been  divided  among  the  ten 
children,  Joseph,  the  youngest,  bought  most  of  the 
land  that  was  apportioned  to  his  brothers  and 
sisters.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  December 
25,  1739,  leaving  nine  children.  His  youngest 
child,  also  named  Joseph,  born  in  March,  1716, 
married  Sarah  Greenleaf,  of  West  Newbury,  July 
12,  1739,  and  died  October  10,  1796.  They  had 
eleven  children,  of  whom  five  died  in  infancy  or  in 
youth,  and  only  three  of  the  others  were  married. 
The  three  who  were  married  were  Joseph,  Obadiah, 
and  John.  Five  of  Joseph's  children  settled  in 
Maine ;  seven  of  Obadiah's  nine  children  settled  in 
New  Hampshire;  and  John,  the  youngest  son  who 
married,  remained  upon  the  Haverhill  farm,  with 
his  younger  brother,  Moses.  In  April,  1802,  John 
and  Moses,  in  partnership,  bought  the  interest  of 
the  other  heirs  in  the  estate,  paying  them  therefor 
about  $1700.  The  partnership  continued  until  the 
death  of  Moses,  in  1824. 


THE    WHIT  TIER   FAMILY  9 

John  Whittier,  father  of  the  poet,  was  born 
November  22,  1760,  and  died  June  11,  1830. 
He  was  forty-four  years  old  when  he  married  Abi- 
gail Hussey,  October  3,  1804,  and  she  was  twenty- 
one  years  his  junior.  Abigail  was  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  Hussey,  of  Somersworth  (now  Rollins- 
ford),  N.  H.,  and  Mercy  Evans,  of  Berwick,  Me. 
She  was  born  in  1781,  and  died  December  27, 
1857.  John  and  Abigail  had  four  children  :  Mary, 
John  Greenleaf,  Matthew  Franklin,  and  Elizabeth 
Hussey. 

Those  who  are  curious  in  vital  statistics  may 
find  something  of  interest  in  the  following  sum- 
mary :  Thomas  Whittier  was  forty-nine  years  old 
when  his  son  Joseph  was  born,  and  he  lived  to  be 
seventy-six  years  of  age.  Joseph  was  forty-seven 
years  old  when  his  son,  the  second  Joseph,  was 
born,  and  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy.  The  sec- 
ond Joseph  was  forty-five  years  old  when  John 
was  born,  and  he  lived  to  be  eighty.  John  was  in 
his  forty-eighth  year  when  John  Greenleaf,  the 
poet,  was  born,  and  he  lived  to  be  nearly  seventy. 
These  five  lives  extended  over  the  unusual  period 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy-two  years.  Although 
each  Whittier  in  this  list  lived  to  good  old  age, 
they  each  passed  away  without  seeing  their  grand- 
sons. The  poet's  grandfather,  who  lived  to  be 
eighty,  died  eleven  years  before  the  birth  of  his 
grandson.  His  father  died  in  good  old  age,  when 
he  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-two.  These  were 
all  accounted  stalwart  men,  while  he  who  seemed 
to  have  the  frailest  physique  lived  to  be  five  years 
older  than  either  of  his  Whittier  ancestors.  The 


10  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD 

delicacy  of  his  physical  frame  and  the  unusual  de- 
velopment of  intellectual  and  spiritual  force  may 
be  taken  as  confirmation  of  the  theory  that  the 
older  children  of  a  family  inherit  a  larger  share 
of  physical  strength,  while  the  younger  ones  come 
into  possession  of  a  corresponding  share  of  nerve 
and  brain  power. 

Abigail  Hussey,  mother  of  the  poet,  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Christopher  Hussey,  who  was  in  early 
life,  as  we  have  seen,  a  leading  citizen  of  Haver- 
hill,  and  a  contemporary  and  friend  of  Thomas 
Whittier.  The  Husseys  came  from  Boston,  Eng- 
land, and  were  people  of  distinction  in  both  the 
English  and  American  branches  of  the  family. 
Christopher  Hussey,  before  he  came  to  this  coun- 
try, married  Theodate,  daughter  of  Eev.  Stephen 
Bachiler.  As  some  of  the  personal  characteristics  of 
Parson  Bachiler  were  transmitted  to  recent  gener- 
ations in  several  branches  of  his  family,  and  were 
particularly  observable  in  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  a  brief  sketch  of  his  rather  remarkable 
career  may  not  be  out  of  place  here. 

Rev.  Stephen  Bachiler,  born  in  England  in 
1561,  was  educated  at  Oxford,  and  in  1587  was 
made  vicar  of  a  church  in  Hampshire,  where  he 
remained  until  1605,  when  he  was  deprived  of  his 
living  because  of  nonconformity.  He  preached  in 
England  for  twenty-five  years  thereafter,  and  then, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years,  came  to  America. 
He  arrived  in  Boston,  June  5,  1632,  and  at  once 
proceeded  to  Lynn,  with  the  little  company  who 
had  made  the  voyage  with  him.  His  daughter 
Theodate,  who  had  married  Christopher  Hussey, 


STEPHEN  BA CHILER  11 

was  already  settled  in  Lynn.  Mr.  Bachiler,  a 
stanch  nonconformist  in  old  England,  retained 
his  independent  ways  during  his  twenty-two 
years'  residence  in  New  England.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  advanced  age,  he  caused  much  annoyance 
in  the  Puritan  community.  Prince  speaks  of  him 
as  "  a  man  of  form  in  his  day,  a  gentleman  of 
much  learning  and  ingenuity."  Governor  Win- 
throp  in  his  journal  tells  some  strange  stories  about 
him,  which  for  more  than  two  centuries  have  be- 
clouded his  reputation,  but  recent  investigations  1 
show  that  the  scandals,  which  were  inherently  im- 
probable, were  false  accusations  growing  partly  out 
of  religious  bitterness,  and  partly  out  of  the  intrigues 
and  aggressions  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
which  were  being  resisted  by  the  New  Hampshire 
settlements.  While  residing  in  Lynn  he  was 
brought  before  the  court  for  some  irregularity, 
and  enjoined  from  preaching  or  teaching  for  a 
year  because  of  his  "  contempt  of  authority,  and 
until  some  scandals  be  removed."  These  "  scan- 
dals," as  it  now  appears,  did  not  affect  his  moral 
character,  but  refer  to  his  independence  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  authority.  He  received  a  grant  of 
land  in  Ipswich  in  1636,  and  removed  thither,  but 
difficulties  arose  and  he  did  not  remain.  Soon 
after,  the  town  of  Newbury  made  him  a  similar 
grant,  but  his  stay  was  equally  short.  In  1639,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-eight  years,  with  his  son-in-law, 
Christopher  Hussey,  he  planted  the  town  of  Hamp- 
ton, N.  H.,  and  was  the  first  minister  settled  there. 

1  See  article  by  Charles  E.  Batchelder  in  N.  E.  Hist,  and  Gen. 
Register,  January,  1892. 


12  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

He  was  excommunicated  on  a  charge  for  which  he 
was  never  tried,  though  he  demanded  trial,  and 
in  three  years  restored  to  communion,  but  not  to 
the  ministry.  The  people  of  Exeter  called  him  to 
be  their  pastor,  but  the  court  refused  permission. 
At  the  age  of  eighty-nine  he  married  his  third 
wife,  from  whom  he  soon  found  abundant  cause 
for  separation.  But  the  court  passed  a  stringent 
order  requiring  them  to  live  together.  This  order 
was  maliciously  unjust  to  Bachiler.  Whereupon, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  he  returned  to  England, 
and  died  at  Hackney,  near  London,  in  1660,  in 
the  one  hundredth  year  of  his  age.  Probably  the 
passage  in  "  The  Wreck  of  Rivermouth  "  which 
indicates  the  poet's  belief  in  the  guilt  imputed  to 
his  ancestor  would  have  been  revised,  if  the  evi- 
dence now  found  in  his  favor  had  earlier  come  to 
light. 

To  this  remarkable  man  several  New  England 
families  of  note  trace  their  origin,  and  he  seems  to 
have  transmitted  to  his  descendants  some  marked 
physical  and  mental  peculiarities  that  are  still  dis- 
cernible, after  a  lapse  of  several  generations.  It 
was  the  Bachiler  eye,  dark,  deep-set,  and  lustrous, 
which  marked  the  cousinship  that  existed  between 
Daniel  Webster  and  John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 
Susannah  Bachiler,  the  grandmother  of  Webster, 
was  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  sons  of  the  eloquent 
nonconformist  clergyman  whose  troublous  old  age 
has  been  sketched,  and  Whittier  was  a  descendant 
of  his  oldest  daughter.  In  several  other  families 
descended  from  Bachiler,  the  physical  peculiarity 
referred  to  is  quite  noticeable.  The  eyes  which 


SARAH  GREENLEAF  13 

first  saw  the  light  before  Shakespeare  was  born 
have  repeated  themselves,  generation  after  genera- 
tion,  to  this  day. 

Mr.  Whittier  was  named  for  his  father  aud  for 
the  family  of  his  father's  mother,  Sarah  Greenleaf.1 
His  grandmother  was  descended  from  Edmund 
Greenleaf ,  who  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Brixham, 
Devonshire,  England,  about  the  year  1600.  The 

1  The  home  of  Sarah  Greenleaf  was  upon  the  Newbury  shore 
of  the  Merrimac  nearly  opposite  the  home  of  the  Whittiors. 
The  house  was  standing  until  a  recent  date.  Among  Mr.  Whit- 
tier's  papers  was  found  the  following1  fragment  of  a  ballad 
about  the  home-coming,  as  a  bride,  of  his  grandmother,  Sarah 
Greenleaf,  now  first  published  :  — 

"  Sarah  Greenleaf,  of  eighteen  years, 

Stepped  lightly  her  bridegroom's  boat  within, 
Waving  mid-river,  through  smiles  and  tears, 

A  farewell  back  to  her  kith  and  kin. 
With  her  sweet  blue  eyes  and  her  new  gold  gown, 

She  sat  by  her  stalwart  lover's  side  — 
Oil,  never  was  brought  to  Haverhill  town 

By  land  or  water  so  fair  a  bride. 
Glad  as  the  glad  autumnal  weather. 

The  Indian  summer  so  soft  and  warm, 
They  walked  through  the  golden  woods  together, 

His  arm  the  girdle  about  her  form. 

"  They  passed  the  dam  and  the  gray  gristmill, 

Whose  walls  with  the  jar  of  grinding  shook, 
And  crossed,  for  the  moment  awed  and  still, 

The  haunted  bridge  of  the  Country  Brook. 
The  great  oaks  seemed  on  Job's  Hill  crown 

To  wave  in  welcome  their  branches  strong, 
And  an  upland  streamlet  came  rippling  down 

Over  root  and  rock,  like  a  bridal  song. 
And  lo  !  in  the  midst  of  a  clearing  stood 

The  rough-built  farmhouse,  low  and  loiie, 
While  all  about  it  the  unhewn  wood 

Seemed  drawing  closer  to  claim  its  own. 

"  But  the  red  apples  dropped  from  orchard  tree^ 

The  red  cock  crowed  on  the  low  fence  rail, 

From  the  garden  hives  came  the  sound  of  bees, 

On  the  barn  floor  pealed  the  smiting  flail." 


14  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

Greenleaf  family,  it  is  believed,  were  of  Hugue- 
not origin,  and  the  name  was  probably  translated 
from  the  French  Feuillevert,  as  is  suggested  in 
Mr.  Whittier's  poem,  "  A  Name."  Edmund 
Greenleaf  married  Sarah  Dole,  and  had  several 
children  born  in  England.  He  settled  in  New- 
bury,  Mass.  His  son  Stephen,  born  in  1630,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Coffin,  daughter  of  Tristram  Coffin, 
and  their  son  Tristram,  born  in  1667,  married  Mar- 
garet Piper  in  1689.  Tristram's  son  Nathaniel, 
born  in  1691,  married  Judith ;  their  daugh- 
ter Sarah,  born  March  5,  1721,  married  Joseph 
Whittier,  2d,  and  her  son  John  was  the  father  of 
the  poet.  The  Harvard  professor,  Simon  Green- 
leaf,  descended  from  John,  an  older  brother  of 
Tristram  Greenleaf,  above  named.  The  name  of 
Whittier  was  spelled  in  many  ways  by  various 
members  of  the  family  with  the  license  that  pre- 
vailed not  only  in  this  country  but  in  England 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  In 
the  Essex  County  records  may  be  found  eighteen 
different  ways  of  spelling  this  name.  Thomas 
Whittier  spelled  it  with  one  "  t." 

Mr.  Whittier  has  himself  sketched  in  prose,  in 
"  The  Fish  I  did  n't  Catch,"  the  old  homestead  in 
which  his  childhood  and  youth  were  spent.  He 
speaks  of  the  house  as  having  been  built  about  the 
time  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  drove  out  James 
the  Second,  and  adds :  — 

"  It  was  surrounded  by  woods  in  all  directions 
save  to  the  southeast,  where  a  break  in  the  leafy 
wall  revealed  a  vista  of  low  green  meadows,  pic- 
turesque with  wooded  islands  and  jutting  capes  of 


GREAT  HILL   AND  JOB'S  HILL.          15 

upland.  Through  these,  a  small  brook,  noisy 
enough  as  it  foamed,  rippled,  and  laughed  down 
its  rocky  falls  by  our  garden-side,  wound,  silently 
and  scarcely  visible,  to  a  still  larger  stream,  known 
as  the  Country  Brook.  This  brook  in  its  turn, 
after  doing  duty  at  two  or  three  saw  and  grist 
mills,  the  clack  of  which  we  could  hear  in  still 
days  across  the  intervening  woodlands,  found  its 
way  to  the  great  river,  and  the  river  took  it  up 
and  bore  it  down  to  the  great  sea." 

Great  Hill,  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  which 
was  one  of  the  poet's  favorite  resorts,  is  one  of  the 
highest  elevations  in  the  county,  from  which  por- 
tions of  more  than  thirty  cities  and  towns  may  be 
seen,  with  Monadnock  rising  dome-like  in  the  west, 
and  Wachusett  a  little  to  the  south,  while  the 
billowy  Deerfield  range  edges  the  horizon  in  the 
north,  and  in  the  east  the  ocean,  with  its  white  sails, 
may  be  traced  from  Boar's  Head  to  Cape  Ann. 

The  great  dome  of  Job's  Hill,  which  took  its 
name  from  an  Indian  chief  of  the  neighborhood, 
though  now  almost  bare  of  trees,  was  in  Whittier's 
youth  well  covered  with  giant  oaks,  which  must 
have  added  much  to  its  apparent  height.  This 
hill  rises  so  steeply  from  the  right  bank  at  the  foot 
of  the  garden  that  it  is  difficult  for  many  rods  to 
get  a  foothold.  Its  height  is  so  great  that  it  ma- 
terially shortens  the  winter  afternoons  for  the 
dwellers  in  the  valley.  From  the  left  bank  of  the 
noisy  brook  the  garden  lot  sloped  gently  upward 
toward  the  front  of  the  house,  till  it  met  a  terrace, 
upon  which  were  the  flower  garden  and  the  well 
with  its  ancient  sweep. 


16  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

A  little  way  up  the  brook  may  still  be  seen  the 
remains  of  a  series  of  dams  constructed  by  some 
of  the  earlier  Whittiers,  perhaps  by  the  pioneer 
himself,  when  the  water  was  utilized  for  grind- 
ing grain  or  sawing  lumber.  It  is  possible  that 
Thomas  Whittier,  when  erecting  his  buildings, 
had  this  water  power  in  view,  as  the  brook  in  those 
days  before  the  forests  were  cleared  away  was  a 
much  larger  and  more  reliable  stream  than  now. 
The  house  faces  southeast,  and  just  beyond  the 
brook  the  main  road  from  Amesbury  to  Haverhill 
climbs  over  a  shoulder  of  the  hill,  while  a  cross- 
road bridges  the  brook,  and  passes  the  eastern  end 
of  the  house. 

Between  the  brook  and  the  house  was  a  row  of 
butternuts,  walnuts,  and  maples,  and  at  the  gate- 
way stood  picturesque  Lombardy  poplars,  which 
have  now  disappeared,  as  from  most  New  England 
landscapes.  The  bridle-post  mentioned  in  "  Snow- 
Bound  "  is  a  large  boulder  at  the  left  of  the  gate- 
way, with  a  projection  in  its  inner  face  that  served 
as  a  step.  It  can  be  readily  imagined  how  this 
bridle-post  with  its  step  and  mantle  of  snow  might 
suggest  an  old  man  sitting 

"  With  loose-flung  coat  and  high  cocked  hat." 

The  doorstone  of  the  porch  is  a  small  granite 
millstone,  probably  one  of  those  used  in  the 
ancient  gristmill  upon  the  hillside  brook.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road  were  the  barn,  a  granary, 
and  an  ancient  shop  once  supplied  with  a  forge. 
The  barn  was  built  by  John  and  Moses  Whittier, 
when  the  poet  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  The  old 


The  Haverkill  Homestead 


I'l 


THE  HOMESTEAD  BARN  17 

barn,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road  with  the  house, 
stood  for  some  years  after  the  erection  of  the  new 
one.  Mr.  Whittier  once  told  the  writer  that  the 
old  barn  had  no  doors,  and  the  winter  winds 
whistled  through  it,  and  snow  drifted  upon  its 
floors,  for  more  than  a  century.  The  horses  and 
cattle  were  but  slightly  protected  in  their  stalls 
and  "  tie-up."  This  was  the  early  practice  through- 
out New  England.  Our  fathers,  coming  from  the 
milder  climate  of  England,  had  the  traditional 
English  slowness  in  adapting  themselves  to  changed 
climatic  conditions.  The  pioneers  and  their  de- 
scendants for  four  or  five  generations  adopted  the 
policy  of  "  toughening  "  themselves  by  exposure  to 
cold,  and  they  saw  no  reason  for  making  their 
cattle  more  comfortable  than  themselves.  Their 
boys  were  expected  at  an  early  age  to  take  their 
part  in  the  work  of  subduing  the  wilderness,  and 
they  housed  and  dressed  themselves  much  as  they 
had  done  in  the  milder  climate  of  the  mother 
country.  Almost  two  centuries  passed  away  before 
barns  were  made  comfortable,  and  flannels  and 
overcoats  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  extravagances. 

Mr.  Whittier  was  accustomed  to  attribute  the 
delicacy  of  his  health  throughout  life  to  the  meth- 
ods of  toughening  the  constitution  in  vogue  when 
he  was  a  lad.  No  flannels  were  worn  in  the 
coldest  weather,  and  the  garments  of  homespun, 
though  strong  and  serviceable,  were  of  open  tex- 
ture compared  with  modern  goods.  Only  a  short 
spencer  for  overcoat,  and  mufflers  and  mittens 
were  provided  for  extremely  cold  weather ;  and 
the  drive  to  the  Friends'  meeting  at  Amesbury, 


18  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

eight  miles  away,  twice  a  week,  on  First  and 
Fifth  days,  with  no  buffalo  robes  or  warm  wraps, 
was  thoroughly  chilling  and  uncomfortable,  and 
the  meeting-houses  of  those  days  were  seldom 
provided  with  means  of  heating.  These  were 
among  the  hardships  of  the  time  and  country, 
common  to  all  classes  of  the  people,  and  were 
endured  as  inevitable.  But,  while  lamenting  this 
needless  exposure  to  cold,  Whittier  never  com- 
plained of  other  hard  youthful  experiences,  —  the 
unending  contest  with  the  rocky  acres  of  his 
father's  farm,  and  the  difficulties  of  obtaining  an 
education. 

The  new  barn  on  the  Whittier  estate  was 
built  in  1821,  with  most  of  our  modern  conven- 
iences. This  was  the  barn  to  which  that  famous 
path  was  cut  through  "  a  fenceless  drift "  that 
"once  was  road."  Of  late  years  this  treasure- 
house  of  the  farm  has  been  doubled  in  length,  but 
the  end  toward  the  road  is  nearly  the  same  as  on 
that  December  day,  when  the  boys  reached  it 

"  with  merry  din, 
And  roused  the  prisoned  brutes  within." 

The  house  built  by  Thomas  Whittier  has  a 
heavy  oaken  frame,  the  principal  beams  being 
hewed  from  timber  that  gave  a  width  of  fifteen 
inches.  This  building  is  about  thirty -six  feet 
square,  and  built  in  the  ancient  fashion  around 
a  massive  central  chimney.  At  the  northeastern 
corner,  which  is  nearest  the  road,  is  a  porch 
giving  entrance  to  the  kitchen.  This  room  is  by 
far  the  largest,  as  it  is  the  most  notable,  room  in 


THE   OLD  KITCHEN  19 

the  house,  being  about  thirty  feet  in  length,  and 
of  proportionate  width.  What  other  kitchen  in 
the  world  is  more  hallowed  by  associations  that 
touch  the  universal  heart?  Its  first  suggestion  to 
the  imagination  is  the  deep  content  and  peace 
of  a  happy,  united  family,  gathered  of  a  winter 
evening  around  their  blazing  hearth-fire,  while  a 
storm  rages  without.  The  great  fireplace  is  of 
itself  almost  as  wide  as  the  average  kitchen  of  the 
present  day.  The  chimney  is  broad  enough  at  its 
base  to  allow  a  space  of  about  eight  feet  between 
the  jambs.  The  oven  is  at  the  back  of  the  fire- 
place on  the  right  side,  and  if  there  were  a  large 
fire  upon  the  hearth,  it  would  be  difficult  to  man- 
age the  baking,  as  one  must  step  into  the  fire- 
place to  reach  it.  The  old  crane,  swinging  on  its 
stout  hinges  at  the  left,  and  the  ancient  trammels 
and  hooks  remain,  curious  reminders  of  the  clumsy 
methods  of  cooking  in  olden  times.  When  Mr. 
Whittier  last  visited  the  place,  the  hearth  was 
worn  and  broken,  and  the  Turk's  head  andirons 
were  gone.  But  a  fire  was  readily  kindled,  and 
"  the  great  throat  of  the  chimney  "  made  to  laugh 
again,  with  its  roaring  draught,  while  in  the  gleam 
of  the  crackling  flames 

"  the  old,  rude-furnished  room 
Burst,  flower-like,  into  rosy  bloom." 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  kitchen  is  a  cupboard, 
at  which  the  tramp  mentioned  by  Whittier  in  his 
"  Yankee  Gypsies,"  prospecting  for  brandy,  filled 
his  mouth  with  whale  oil,  and  spluttered  inartic- 
ulate imprecations.  A  little  bedroom,  that  was 


20  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

known  as  "  mother's  room,"  opens  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  kitchen.  The  ancient  sashes 
with  their  small  panes  remain  in  most  of  the 
windows.  Perhaps  some  of  these  panes  in  the 
kitchen  are  the  identical  ones  through  which  the 
painted  savages  wonderingly  peered  at  the  stout 
old  pioneer  and  his  family.  It  was  certainly 
through  these  panes  that  the  poet  saw  the  mimic 
flames  that  appeared  to  glow  in  the  sparkling 
drifts  outside,  and  told  its  meaning  in  the  old 
rhyme :  — 

"Under  the  tfee, 

When  fire  outdoors  burns  merrily, 
There  the  witches  are  making  tea." 

The  front  rooms  are  the  family  sitting-room, 
in  the  southeast  corner,  and  the  spare  room,  some- 
times used  as  parlor  and  sometimes  as  bedroom, 
in  the  southwest  corner.  It  was  in  the  last- 
named  room  that  the  poet  was  born.  Doors  into 
each  of  these  front  rooms  open  directly  from  the 
kitchen  on  either  side  of  the  great  fireplace. 
The  front  entry  is  small,  and  the  front  stairs  turn 
in  a  cramped  space  against  the  back  of  the  chim- 
ney. There  is  a  straight  and  steep  flight  of  back 
stairs  leading  up  from  the  western  porch.  It  was 
down  these  stairs  that  in  his  tenderest  infancy  the 
poet,  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  was  once  rolled,  as 
an  experiment,  by  a  little  girl  who  had  charge  of 
him. 

Originally,  the  roof  sloped  on  the  northern  side 
down  to  the  first  story,  but  this  was  raised  in  1801 
to  correspond  with  the  front.  In  the  second  story 
is  a  large  open  and  unfinished  chamber,  around 


THOMAS    WHIT  TIER'S  HOUSE  21 

which  four  more  or  less  finished  chambers  are 
grouped.  The  boys'  chamber  was  the  little  one 
over  "  mother's  room,"  and  above  is  a  large  attic, 
with  its  rafters  studded  with  nails  and  pegs,  from 
which  five  generations  of  careful  Quakers  have 
suspended  braids  of  seed-corn,  bunches  of  medici- 
nal herbs,  and  all  the  articles  to  which  the  ancient 
New  England  attic  is  consecrate,  and  on  the  floor 
of  which  the  boys  of  two  centuries  have  spread 
butternuts,  walnuts,  and  acorns,  around  the  great 
chimney. 

This  was  the  home  in  which  Whittier  spent  his 
childhood  and  youth,  and  where  he  dreamed  the 
ambitious  dreams  of  his  young  manhood.  It  af- 
forded something  more  than  the  average  comfort 
of  farm  life  at  that  time.  Whatever  hardships  he 
encountered  were  shared  with  the  majority  of 
farmers'  families  in  New  England.  The  meadows 
were  boggy  and  undrained.  The  uplands  that  had 
been  cleared  of  trees  by  the  fathers  were  still  in- 
cumbered  with  stumps,  and  strewn  with  boulders, 
large  and  small,  which  interfered  with  the  easy 
working  of  the  soil.  Fair  crops  could  be  raised 
only  at  the  expense  of  hard  work.  This  was  taken 
for  granted,  and  as  a  rule  was  not  shirked  by  the 
boys.  Young  Whittier  did  his  share  of  the  house- 
hold chores,  and  as  he  gained  strength  worked 
with  his  father  and  uncle  Moses  in  the  fields  and 
forests.  When  he  last  visited  the  homestead,  in 
1882,  he  pointed  out  a  stone  wall  he  helped  to 
build,  which  is  now  standing  between  the  brook 
and  the  gate.  It  is  the  garden  wall  referred  to  in 
«  The  Barefoot  Boy :  "  — 


22  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

"  Laughed  the  brook  for  my  delight 
Through  the  day  and  through  the  night, 
Whispering  at  the  garden  wall , 
Talked  with  me  from  fall  to  fall." 


He  attained  the  full  height  of  his  mature  years, 
five  feet,  ten  and  one  half  inches,  when  he  was 
about  fifteen  years  of  age ;  but  he  was  always 
slender,  and  never  strong  of  muscle.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  sustained  injuries  from  over-exer- 
tion in  farm  work,  from  the  effects  of  which  he 
never  fully  recovered.  Some  phases  of  farm  life 
he  always  enjoyed,  such  as  watching  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  crops,  the  harvesting  of 
such  as  did  not  overtax  his  strength,  and  the  com- 
panionship of  the  domestic  animals,  especially  the 
oxen.  He  had  seven  cows  to  milk,  and  this  work 
he  never  relished.  Beside  the  cows,  there  were 
kept  on  the  farm  a  yoke  of  oxen,  a  few  sheep, 
and  one  horse.  His  mother  made  butter  and 
cheese  which  had  such  a  reputation  that  it  brought 
much  better  prices  than  the  average.  Their  bread 
was  supplied  from  grains  raised  on  the  farm.  Rye 
was  largely  used  instead  of  wheat,  and  much  In- 
dian corn.  The  only  method  of  threshing  grain,  in 
his  youth,  was  with  the  flail,  the  wielding  of  which 
required  more  strength  than  he  possessed. 

His  brother,  Matthew  Franklin,  nearly  five  years 
younger  than  himself,  was  his  superior  in  strength, 
and  led  off  in  "  breaking "  the  steers  and  colts, 
and  in  other  enterprises  requiring  bodily  vigor. 
Of  a  warm  summer  afternoon,  when  no  work  was 
pressing,  the  top  of  Job's  Hill  was  the  favorite  re- 
sort of  the  boys,  and  of  the  cattle  as  well.  The 


THE   OUTLOOK  FROM  JOB'S  HILL        23 

summit  is  a  plateau  of  several  acres,  which  was 
formerly  dotted  with  large  oaks.  To  this  pasture 
came  the  cattle,  to  lie  in  the  shade  of  the  wide- 
spreading  trees.  All  the  winds  found  their  way  to 
this  breezy  height,  and  in  the  sultriest  day  the  air 
was  never  stagnant.  The  varied  charms  of  the 
fine  outlook  were  not  lost  upon  the  young  poet  and 
his  lively  brother.  Directly  beneath  them  was 
the  ancient  homestead,  and  they  could  almost  look 
down  into  the  flues  of  the  great  chimney.  A  wide 
stretch  of  beautifully  diversified  country  spreads 
away  on  all  sides  to  a  distant  horizon.  The  dome- 
shaped  hills  peculiar  to  the  lower  valley  of  the 
Merrimac  River  were  all  about  them.  The  south- 
ern ranges  of  the  New  Hampshire  mountains 
could  be  seen  at  the  north,  and  eastward  rose  Aga- 
menticus,  standing  as  a  sentinel  upon  the  coast  of 
Maine.  At  the  west,  across  the  Great  Pond  (since 
christened  Kenoza  by  the  poet),  were  the  spires  of 
Haverhill.  Southeast  was  a  glimpse  of  the  blue 
sea  in  Ipswich  bay,  with  the  rocks  of  Cape  Ann 
beyond,  and  just  across  the  Merrimac  were  the 
rolling  hills  of  Newbury.  Only  five  miles  away, 
in  Byfield,  was  the  ancestral  homestead  of  the 
Longfellows,  where  the  grandfather  of  Henry 
Wadsworth  Longfellow  was  born.  A  little  to  the 
left  rose  the  spires  of  Newburyport,  and  the  beau- 
tiful Po  Hill  in  Amesbury,  at  the  foot  of  which 
the  poet  was  to  find  a  home  for  more  than  fifty-six 
years,  was  another  conspicuous  feature  in  the 
wide  landscape. 

The  boys  delighted  in  petting  the  oxen,  which 
were  large  ones,  and  seemed  to  appreciate  all  the 


24  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

kindness  that  was  shown  them.  They  were  named 
"  Buck  "  and  "  Old  Butler."  On  the  hill  was  one 
oak  so  much  larger  than  all  the  rest  that  it  was 
called  "  The  Oak."  As  the  oxen  lay  chewing 
their  cuds  under  this  tree  the  boys  would  often  sit 
on  their  foreheads  and  lean  on  their  horns  as  on 
an  armchair.  Although  always  disposed  to  tease 
his  pets,  Whittier  secured  the  love  of  every  living 
thing  that  came  under  his  care.  Old  Butler 
once  saved  his  life  by  a  remarkable  exhibition  of 
strength,  and  by  what  would  be  called  "  presence 
of  mind  "  if  shown  by  a  man.  One  side  of  Job's 
Hill  is  exceedingly  steep,  —  too  steep  for  such  an 
unwieldy  animal  as  an  ox  to  descend  rapidly  in 
safety.  Greenleaf  went  to  the  pasture  one  day 
with  a  bag  of  salt  for  the  cattle,  and  Old  Butler 
from  the  brow  of  the  hill  recognized  him  and  knew 
his  errand.  As  the  boy  was  bent  over,  shaking 
the  salt  out  of  the  bag,  the  ox  came  down  the  hill 
toward  him  with  flying  leaps,  and  his  speed  was 
so  great  that  he  could  not  check  himself.  He 
would  have  crushed  his  young  master,  but  by  a 
supreme  effort,  gathering  himself  together  at  the 
right  moment,  the  noble  creature  leaped  straight 
out  into  the  air,  over  the  head  of  the  boy,  and 
came  to  the  ground  far  below  with  a  tremendous 
concussion  and  without  serious  injury  to  himself. 

Another  incident  of  his  childhood,  in  which  Old 
Butler  figured,  was  once  related  by  Mr.  Whittier. 
Quaker  meetings  were  sometimes  held  in  the  large 
kitchen  at  his  father's  house.  One  summer  day, 
on  such  an  occasion,  this  ox  had  the  curiosity  to 
put  his  head  in  at  the  open  window  and  take  a 


INCIDENTS   OF  CHILDHOOD  25 

survey  of  the  assembly.  While  a  sweet-voiced 
woman  was  speaking,  Old  Butler  paid  strict  atten- 
tion, but  when  she  sat  down  and  there  arose  a 
loud-voiced  brother,  the  ox  withdrew  his  head 
from  the  window,  lifted  his  tail  in  air,  and  went 
off  bellowing.  This  bovine  criticism  was  greatly 
enjoyed  by  the  younger  members  of  the  meeting. 

Mr.  Whittier  could  not  remember  incidents  that 
happened  before  he  was  six  years  old.  His  first 
recollection  was  of  the  auction  sale  of  a  farm  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  he  was  surprised  to  find  the 
next  morning  that  the  farm  had  not  been  taken 
away  by  the  purchaser,  and  a  large  hole  left  in  its 
place ! 

When  he  was  nine  years  of  age,  President  Mon- 
roe visited  New  England,  and  happened  to  be  at 
Haver  hill  on  the  same  day  that  a  menagerie  with 
a  circus  attachment  was  exhibited  in  that  village. 
The  Quaker  boy  was  not  allowed  the  privilege  of 
seeing  either  the  collection  of  wild  beasts  or  the 
chief  magistrate  of  the  nation.  He  did  not  care 
much  for  the  former,  but  he  was  anxious  to  see  a 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  next  day,  he 
trudged  all  the  way  to  Haverhill,  determined  to 
see  at  least  some  footsteps  in  the  street  that  the 
great  man  had  left  behind  him.  He  found  at 
last  an  impression  of  an  elephant's  foot  in  the 
road,  and  supposing  this  to  be  Monroe's  track,  he 
followed  it  as  far  as  he  could  distinguish  it.  Then 
he  went  home,  satisfied  he  had  seen  the  footsteps 
of  the  greatest  man  in  the  country. 

When  he  was  an  old  man,  a  little  girl  in  Penn- 
sylvania wrote  to  him  inquiring  about  his  child- 


26  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

hood  on  the  farm.     These  passages  are  from  his 
reply :  — 

"  I  think  at  the  age  of  which  thy  note  inquires  I 
found  about  equal  satisfaction  in  an  old  rural  home, 
with  the  shifting  panorama  of  the  seasons,  in  read- 
ing the  few  books  within  my  reach,  and  dreaming 
of  something  wonderful  and  grand  somewhere  in 
the  future.  Neither  change  nor  loss  had  then 
made  me  realize  the  uncertainty  of  all  earthly 
things.  I  felt  secure  of  my  mother's  love,  and 
dreamed  of  losing  nothing  and  gaining  much.  ...  I 
had  at  that  time  a  great  thirst  for  knowledge  and 
little  means  to  gratify  it.  The  beauty  of  outward 
nature  early  impressed  me,  and  the  moral  and 
spiritual  beauty  of  the  holy  lives  I  read  of  in  the 
Bible  and  other  good  books  also  affected  me  with 
a  sense  of  my  falling  short  and  longing  for  a  bet- 
ter state." 

To  illustrate  the  fact  that  children  suffer  intensely 
from  causes  which  their  elders  regard  as  trivial, 
and  which  they  themselves  are  inclined  to  laugh  at 
in  later  life,  Mr.  Whittier  once  told  this  story  of 
his  boyhood  to  a  friend  who  was  passing  with  him 
the  scene  of  the  incident.  It  was  at  an  ancient 
farmyard  on  a  side-hill  midway  between  East 
Haverhill  and  the  village  of  Merrimac.  In  ascend- 
ing this  hill,  his  father  was  in  the  habit  of  reliev- 
ing his  horse  by  walking,  and  Greenleaf  was  ex-  < 
pected.  to  walk  also.  It  was  a  terrible  trial  to 
him,  and  the  sight  of  the  place  recalled  vividly  the 
terrors  of  his  youth,  though  seventy  years  had 
passed.  A  gander  would  begin  his  warlike  threats 
as  soon  as  he  saw  the  boy,  and  in  later  life  Mr. 


HIS   FATHER  27 

Whittier  could  have  marched  up  a  hill  towards  a 
hostile  battery  without  such  a  sinking  of  the  heart 
as  he  felt  whenever  he  approached  this  harm- 
less but  noisy  fowl.  If  he  had  dared  to  tell  his 
father  of  his  agony  of  dread,  he  could  have  re- 
mained safely  in  the  carriage.  But  the  fear  of 
being  laughed  at  prevailed  over  every  other  consid- 
eration. He  thought  this  was  the  experience  of 
many  children,  and  that  parents  should  treat  their 
apparently  petty  troubles  with  more  seriousness 
than  is  their  custom. 

In  "  Snow-Bound "  Mr.  Whittier  has  sketched 
each  member  of  the  family  in  which  his  early  life 
was  moulded.  John  Whittier,  his  father,  was  a 
tall,  strongly-built  man,  who  had  been  famous  in 
his  youth  for  the  strength  and  quickness  he  dis- 
played in  athletic  games  and  exercises.  He  was  a 
man  of  few  words,  but  prompt  and  decisive  in  his 
utterances.  He  was  several  times  elected  a  select- 
man of  Haverhill,  and  was  often  called  upon  to  act 
as  arbitrator  in  settling  neighborhood  differences. 
In  speaking  of  his  father's  connection  with  town 
affairs,  Mr.  Whittier  once  quoted  this  saying  of 
his,  illustrating  his  opinion  in  regard  to  public 
charities:  "There  are  the  Lord's  poor,  and  the 
Devil's  poor ;  there  ought  to  be  a  distinction  made 
between  them  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor."  Be- 
fore his  marriage  he  made  several  trips  to  Canada 
through  the  wilds  of  New  Hampshire,  carrying  on 
a  barter  trade  in  various  commodities.  To  these 
excursions  the  poet  refers  in  "  Snow-Bound." 

In  repairing  an  old  desk  that  is  an  heirloom  in 
the  family,  a  few  years  ago,  this  memorandum  was 


28  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

found  written  by  John  Whittier  upon  the  back  of 
one  of  the  drawers  :  "  Last  time  Canada,  I  believe, 
1799."  It  is  probably  a  vow  he  then  registered 
not  to  make  another  of  those  wilderness  journeys.1 
The  poet's  comment  upon  his  taciturnity, 

"No  breath  our  father  wasted," 

is  illustrated  in  this  brief  inscription  meant  for 
no  eye  but  his  own.  He  was  a  devout  member  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  and  carefully  observant 
of  Quaker  traditions.  He  had  little  or  no  sympa- 
thy with  the  literary  tastes  and  aspirations  of  the 
young  poet,  who,  however,  found  in  his  mother, 
sisters,  and  brother  all  the  appreciation  and  encour- 
agement his  nature  demanded. 

The  poet's  mother,  Abigail  Whittier,  was  es- 
teemed by  all  who  knew  her  as  one  of  the  loveliest 
and  saintliest  of  women.  She  was  a  person  of 
much  native  refinement  of  feeling  and  manners, 
with  a  dignity  of  bearing  and  benignity  of  expres- 
sion that  impressed  and  charmed  all  who  knew  her. 
Her  face  was  full  and  very  fair,  her  eye  dark 
and  expressive.  For  fifty  years  she  was  the  guide, 

1  Mr.  Whittier  had  from  his  father  this  anecdote  of  his  visit  to 
the  Canadian  frontier :  "  He  joined  a  party  of  horsemen  and  they 
rode  through  the  wilds  up  to  the  Lake  Memphremagog.  There 
they  met  a  tribe  of  friendly  Indians.  The  country  was  wild. 
No  settlement  had  been  made  there  by  the  whites.  On  the  day 
of  my  father's  arrival  there  these  Indians  had  gone  on  a  spree,  and 
every  man  in  camp  was  tipsy,  with  but  one  exception,  and  he  was 
kept  busy  looking  after  his  .companions  to  prevent  them  from 
rolling  into  the  lake,  and  getting  into  mischief.  My  father  asked 
the  sober  Indian  if  he  never  got  drunk.  He  replied,  *  Oh,  yes  ; 
me  get  drunk  some  time ;  not  now ;  me  keep  watch  this  time  ; 
next  time  me  get  drunk.' " 


HIS  MOTHER  AND  SISTER  29 

counselor,  and  friend  of  her  illustrious  son,  who 
repaid  her  devotion  with  a  love  as  deep  and  tender 
as  her  own.  Her  memory,  as  well  as  that  of  her 
sister,  Mercy  Hussey,  is  cherished  with  affection 
and  respect  not  only  in  the  family,  and  in  the 
religious  sect  to  which  they  belonged,  but  among 
all  with  whom  they  came  in  contact. 

Of  the  poet's  two  sisters,  Mary  and  Elizabeth, 
the  older  possessed  many  of  the  characteristics 
of  her  father,  while  the  younger  had  the  milder, 
sweeter  nature  of  her  mother.  Mary,  born  Sep- 
tember 3,  1806,  married  Jacob  Caldwell  of  Haver- 
hill,  had  two  children,  Louis  Henry  and  Mary 
Elizabeth,  and  died  January  7,  1860. 

Perhaps  the  tenderest  touch  in  "  Snow-Bound  " 
may  be  found  in  the  lines  referring  to  his  sister, 
Elizabeth  Hussey,  who  spent  her  whole  life  with 
the  poet,  sharing  the  enthusiasm  and  the  dangers 
of  his  labors  in  behalf  of  unpopular  reforms,  and 
the  cares  and  pleasures  of  his  home  life.  Eight 
years  younger  than  himself,  she  was  from  child- 
hood his  special  pet  and  favorite,  and  as  she  grew 
older,  she  responded  to  his  love  with  all  the  wealth 
of  her  warm  affections  and  keen  appreciation  of  his 
gifts.  She  became  his  most  intimate  and  confiden- 
tial literary  friend,  and  with  the  same  poetic  tem- 
perament and  tastes  she  possessed  some  qualifica- 
tions in  which  he  was  deficient.  His  shyness  and 
reticence  found  its  complement  in  her  easy  social 
intercourse,  her  affability,  and  facility  of  expres- 
sion ;  and  with  her  quick  sympathies  and  spar- 
kling wit  their  frequent  and  various  guests  found 
most  charming  entertainment.  Her  conversation 


30  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

abounded  in  happy  phrases,  not  readily  forgotten. 
Of  a  friend  who  had  just  returned  from  her  wed- 
ding trip  to  western  New  York,  she  said :  a  She 
was  very  happy,  —  the  glory  of  Niagara  shone  in 
her  face."  Like  Dorothy  Wordsworth,  her  life 
was  one  of  unselfish  devotion  to  her  brother,  and 
as  a  critic  her  assistance  was  highly  prized  by  him, 
who,  after  she  had  passed  away,  thus  touchingly 
recalls 

"  the  dear 

Memory  of  one  who  might  have  tuned  my  song 
To  sweeter  music  by  her  delicate  ear." 

She,  too,  was  a  writer  of  no  small  merit,  as 
indicated  by  her  correspondence  and  published 
poems,  which  are  included  in  all  the  complete 
editions  of  Whittier's  poems.  It  was  her  brother's 
opinion  that  "  had  her  health,  sense  of  duty,  and 
almost  morbid  dread  of  spiritual  and  intellectual 
egotism  permitted,  she  might  have  taken  a  high 
place  among  lyrical  singers."  She  was  born  De- 
cember 7,  1815,  and  died  September  3,  1864. 
"  Snow-Bound  "  was  written  by  her  brother  the 
year  after  her  death,  and  while  the  grief  for  her 
loss,  never  outgrown,  was  still  fresh. 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  during  his  pas- 
torate in  Newburyport,  frequently  visited  Mr. 
Whittier,  and  he  has  in  a  recent  sketch  referred 
to  three  members  of  the  family  whom  he  regarded 
as  "most  typical  Quaker  women."  The  mother, 
placid,  equable,  elevating  almost  into  religious 
rites  the  whiteness  of  her  bread  and  the  purity  of 
her  table  linen,  —  a  nature  simple,  noble,  direct ; 
and  the  gentle  "  Aunt  Mercy  "  of  "  Snow-Bound," 


TYPICAL   QUAKER    WOMEN  31 

"  The  sweetest  woman  ever  Fate 
Perverse  denied  a  household  mate." 

And  above  all  "  there  was  the  gifted  sister  Lizzie, 
the  pet  and  pride  of  the  household,  one  of  the 
rarest  of  women,  her  brother's  complement,  pos- 
sessing all  the  readiness  of  speech  and  facility  of 
intercourse  which  he  wanted ;  taking  easily  in  his 
presence  the  lead  in  conversation,  which  the  poet 
so  gladly  abandoned  to  her,  while  he  sat  rubbing 
his  hands,  and  laughing  at  her  daring  sallies.  She 
was  as  unlike  him  in  person  as  in  mind ;  for  his 
dignified  erectness,  she  had  endless  motion  and 
vivacity ;  for  his  regular  and  handsome  features, 
she  had  a  long  Jewish  nose,  so  full  of  expression 
that  it  seemed  to  enhance,  instead  of  injuring,  the 
effect  of  the  large  and  liquid  eyes  that  glowed  with 
merriment  and  sympathy  behind  it.  ...  Her  quick 
thoughts  came  like  javelins ;  a  saucy  triumph 
gleamed  in  her  great  eyes ;  the  head  moved  a  little 
from  side  to  side  with  the  quiver  of  a  weapon,  and  lo ! 
you  were  transfixed.  Her  poems,  tragic,  sombre, 
imaginative,  give  no  impression  of  this  side  of  her 
nature.  .  .  .  She  was  a  woman  never  to  be  for- 
gotten ;  and  no  one  can  truly  estimate  the  long 
celibate  life  of  the  poet  without  bearing  in .  mind 
that  he  had  for  many  years  at  his  own  fireside  the 
concentrated  wit  and  sympathy  of  all  womankind 
in  this  one  sister." 

Whittier's  only  brother,  Matthew  Franklin,  was 
born  July  4,  1812,  and  died  January  7,  1883. 
In  middle  life,  during  his  residence  in  Portland, 
Matthew  Whittier  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  anti- 
slavery  cause,  and  wrote  a  series  of  humorous 


32  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

letters  over  the  signature  of  "Ethan  Spike  of 
Hornby,"  satirizing  in  a  most  caustic  manner  the 
foibles  of  the  pro-slavery  politicians  of  the  day. 
The  last  thirteen  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in 
Boston,  where  he  had  a  place  in  the  custom-house. 
He  left  three  children:  Charles  Franklin,  Eliza- 
beth Hussey,  and  Alice  Greenwood. 

The  family  group,  in  Whittier's  youth,  was 
completed  by  the  presence  of  his  bachelor  uncle, 
Moses  Whittier,  and  of  his  maiden  aunt,  Mercy 
Evans  Hussey,  both  of  whom  their  nephew  has 
sketched  with  loving  touch.  Moses,  the  youngest 
brother  of  the  poet's  father,  spent  his  whole  life 
at  the  homestead,  in  which  he  owned  an  equal 
share  with  John.  He  delighted  in  hunting,  fish- 
ing, and  story-telling.  He  had  never  read  much 
or  traveled  far,  but  he  was  wise  in  the  traditions 
of  the  family  and  neighborhood,  an  oracle  to  be 
consulted  about  the  weather,  and  a  charming 
companion  for  his  nephews  in  their  rambles. 
In  Greenleaf,  especially,  "  Uncle  Moses  "  had  a 
sympathetic  listener.  As  they  worked  together 
in  the  fields,  or  sat  by  the  evening  fireside,  he 
enjoyed  the  marvelous  stories  of  the  denizens  of 
the  forest  and  stream,  traditions  of  witchcraft, 
and  tales  of  strange  happenings  in  his  own  times. 
We  can  imagine  the  moods  in  which  these  stories 
were  received,  and  how  they  would  be  warmed 
and  colored  in  the  kindling  fancy  of  the  youth. 
As  he  stood  at  his  uncle's  knee  at  such  times,  he 
fell  into  reveries  from  which  the  good  man  would 
arouse  him  by  the  sharp  exclamation,  "  Come, 


M.  F.  Whittier 


UNCLE  MOSES  AND  AUNT  MERCY      33 

boy,  get  out  of  that  stood !  "  Uncle  Moses  was 
born  in  1762,  and  died  January  23,  1824.  He 
was  fatally  injured  by  the  falling  of  a  tree,  which 
he  had  cut  down,  and  which,  taking  an  unex- 
pected direction,  pinned  him  to  the  ground.  His 
faithful  dog  gave  warning  at  the  house,  and  he 
was  soon  found  and  extricated ;  but  he  did  not 
long  survive  the  accident. 

"  Aunt  Mercy,"  a  younger  sister  of  the  poet's 
mother,  lived  in  the  family  from  his  earliest 
memory  to  the  time  of  her  death,  in  1846. 
With  less  of  dignity  and  i4  presence  "  than  her 
sister,  she  had  a  singular  sweetness  of  disposition, 
and  loving,  helpful  ways.  Her  gentle  ministra- 
tions at  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  suffering  gave 
a  peculiar  significance  to  the  name  her  parents 
bestowed  on  this  Quaker  "  sister  of  mercy." 

Even  the  story  of  Aunt  Mercy's  quiet  life  was 
not  without  a  tinge  of  romance.  In  her  youth, 
according  to  the  tradition  of  the  family,  she  was 
betrothed  to  a  worthy  young  man.  Late  one 
evening,  as  she  sat  musing  by  the  fire  in  the  old 
kitchen,  after  the  rest  of  the  family  had  retired, 
she  felt  impelled  to  go  to  the  window,  and,  look- 
ing out,  she  recognized  her  lover  011  horseback 
approaching  the  house.  As  she  had  reason  to 
suppose  that  he  was  then  in  New  York,  she  was 
surprised  at  his  unexpected  return,  and  his  call  at 
so  late  an  hour.  Passing  the  porch  window  as 
she  hastened  to  open  the  door,  she  saw  her  lover 
ride  by  it,  and  turn  as  if  to  dismount  at  the  step. 
The  next  instant  the  door  was  open,  but  no  trace 
of  man  or  horse  was  to  be  seen.  Bewildered  and 


34  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

terrified,  she  called  her  sister,  who  listened  to  her 
story,  and  tried  to  soothe  her  and  efface  the  pain- 
ful impression.  "  Thee  had  better  go  to  bed, 
Mercy;  thee  has  been  asleep  and  dreaming  by 
the  fire,"  she  said.  But  Mercy  was  quite  sure 
she  had  not  been  asleep,  and  what  she  had  seen 
was  as  real  as  any  waking  experience  of  her  life. 
In  recalling  the  circumstances  of  her  vision,  one 
by  one,  she  at  length  took  notice  that  she  had 
heard  no  sound  of  hoofs  !  It  may  be  imagined 
what  was  the  effect  of  all  this  upon  the  sensitive 
girl,  and  she  was  not  unprepared,  after  a  weary 
waiting  of  many  days,  to  learn  through  a  letter 
from  New  York,  written  by  a  strange  hand,  that 
her  lover  had  died  on  the  very  day,  and  at  the 
hour,  of  her  vision.  In  her  grief  she  did  not  shut 
herself  away  from  the  world,  but  lived  a  life  of 
cheerful  charity.  She  did  not  forget  her  first 
love,  and  gave  no  encouragement  to  other  suitors. 

Among   the    characters   mentioned   in   "  Snow- 
Bound  "  is  the  "  master  of  the  district  school,"  who 

"  Held  at  the  fire  his  favored  place." 

Until  near  the  end  of  Mr.  Whittier's  life,  he 
could  not  recall  the  name  of  this  teacher  whose 
portrait  is  so  carefully  sketched,  but  he  was  sure 
he  came  from  Maine.  At  length,  he  remem- 
bered that  the  name  was  Haskell,  and  from  this 
clue  it  has  been  ascertained  that  he  was  George 
Haskell,1  and  that  he  came  from  Waterford,  Me0 

1  George  Haskell  was  born  at  Harvard,  Mass.,  March  23, 1799. 
His  father,  Samuel  Haskell,  removed  to  Waterford,  Me.,  in 
1803.  In  1821  he  went  to  Phillips  Exeter  Academy,  and  entered 


Mercy  Hussey 


HARRIET  LIVERMORE  35 

The   unwelcome   guest,  mentioned   in   "  Snow- 
Bound,"    was   Harriet    Livermore,1    an   eccentric 

Dartmouth  College  in  1823  ;  left  his  college  class  in  the  Sopho- 
more year,  and  studied  medicine  until  1827,  when  he  received 
the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  the  college.  While  in  college,  he 
taught  one  term  of  district  school  in  East  HaverhilL  He  com- 
menced practice  at  East  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1827  ;  removed  to 
Ashby,  Mass.,  in  1828,  and  to  Edwardsville,  111.,  in  1831.  Two 
years  later  he  settled  at  Alton,  111.,  where  he  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  founding  Shurtleff  College,  of  which  he  was  trustee 
and  treasurer.  In  1838,  he  removed  to  Rockford,  111.,  where  he 
practiced  his  profession  until  1845,  after  which  date  he  devoted 
his  attention  chiefly  to  raising  of  fruit.  He  gave  to  Rockford 
the  land  for  its  public  park.  In  1866,  he  removed  to  New  Jer- 
sey, was  engaged  in  founding  an  industrial  school,  and  purchased 
with  others  a  tract  of  4000  acres,  which  was  laid  out  for  a  model 
community.  In  1857,  Dartmouth  College  gave  him  the  degree 
of  A.  B.,  as  of  the  year  1827.  He  died  in  Vineland,  N.  J.,  in 
1876.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  been  aware  of  the  fact  that 
his  Haverhill  pupil  had  immortalized  him  in  the  poem  Snow- 
Bound.  His  nephew,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Haskell,  of  Kalama- 
zoo,  Mich.,  says  of  him  that  "  he  was  a  man  of  scholarship  and 
enthusiasm,  a  friend  of  struggling  students,  many  of  whom  he 
befriended  in  his  home  and  with  his  means." 

1  Harriet  Livermore  was  born  in  Concord,  N.  H.,  April  24, 
1788,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Edward  St.  Loe  Livermore, 
who  afterward  resided  in  Newburyport,  and  represented  the 
North  Essex  district  in  Congress  from  1801  to  1811.  Before  he 
came  to  Massachusetts  he  sat  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Hampshire,  as  did  also  his  father,  Samuel  Liver- 
more,  and  his  brother  Arthur  before  him.  His  Newburyport 
house,  the  early  home  of  Harriet  Livermore,  was  the  same  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Joseph  Cartland,  where  Mr.  Whittier 
spent  much  time  during  the  last  years  of  his  life.  At  the  period 
referred  to  in  Snow-Bound,  Harriet  Livermore  had  embraced 
the  doctrine  of  the  Second  Advent,  and  went  about  proclaiming 
the  Lord's  speedy  coming.  She  had  but  slight  control  over  a 
violent  temper,  and  quarreled  with  nearly  every  one  with  whom 
she  associated.  She  spent  many  years  hi  travel  over  Europe  and 
the  Holy  Land.  Harriet  Livermore  was  at  one  time  converted  to 
Quakerism,  and  lived  with  a  Friend  at  Amesbury ;  but  she  got 
into  an  argument  on  some  doctrinal  point  with  a  young  man  in  the 


36  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

personage,  whose  wanderings  occasionally  brought 
her  to  East  Haverhill,  and  her  coming  was 
dreaded  by  Whittier  in  his  boyhood.  In  later 
years  he  did  much  to  befriend  her.  She  obtained 
opportunities  to  lecture  in  Philadelphia  and  in 
Washington  through  his  influence. 

The  Whittier  family  had  from  the  first  held  a 
leading  social  position  in  the  East  Parish.  Their 
religious  views  were  respected,  although  none  of 
their  immediate  neighbors  were  of  the  same  faith, 
and  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in 
the  same  vicinity  seldom  passed  them  by,  when 
making  his  pastoral  calls.  On  First  days,  when 
the  weather  was  suitable,  the  parents,  or  uncle 
and  aunt,  always  drove  to  their  meeting  at  Ames- 
bury,  taking  with  them,  by  turns,  as  many  of  the 
children  as  their  one-horse  carriage  would  accom- 
modate.1 A  portion  of  the  afternoon  was  gener- 
ally spent  by  the  assembled  family  in  reading  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  such  other  religious  books  as 
their  scanty  library  afforded. 

These  readings  seem  to  have  been  characterized 
by  much  freedom  of  comment,  in  which  the  young 
poet  sometimes  expressed  his  doubts  regarding  the 

family,  and  knocked  him  down  with  a  stick  of  wood.  That  was 
the  end  of  her  connection  with  the  Society.  She  went  with  her 
father,  when  he  was  a  member  of  Congress,  to  Washington, 
attended  parties,  danced,  and  was  fond  of  the  gay  society  of  the 
capital.  Samuel  Livermore,  a  brother  of  Harriet,  was  chaplain 
on  board  the  Chesapeake  when  that  frigate  was  captured  by 
the  British.  When  his  ship  was  boarded,  he  wounded  a  British 
officer,  and  was  himself  wounded  in  that  affair. 

1  Mr.  Whittier's  father  had  a  chaise,  the  only  one  owned  in  the 
neighborhood.  We  find  a  receipt  for  an  internal  revenue  tax  of 
one  dollar  on  this  chaise  for  the  year  1817. 


SOCIAL  PRIVILEGES  37 

morality  of  certain  acts  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, on  one  occasion  questioning  whether  King 
David,  man  of  war  as  he  was,  could  have  been  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  In  conse- 
quence of  such  criticisms,  his  parents  deemed  it 
best  at  one  time  to  confine  his  study  of  the  Bible 
mostly  to  the  New  Testament.  To  this  faithful 
teaching  in  the  home  may  be  attributed  in  large 
measure  Whittier's  familiarity  with  the  Scriptures 
and  frequent  quotations  in  his  writings.  As  Sted- 
man  has  truly  said,  "  The  Bible  is  rarely  absent 
from  his  verse,  and  its  spirit  never." 

While  the  home  life  was  thus  pure  and  elevating 
in  its  influence,  the  social  privileges  of  the  family 
were  among  the  best  in  their  vicinity.  The  fa- 
ther, holding  offices  of  trust  in  the  town,  was  asso- 
ciated with  many  of  its  notable  citizens,  and  the 
proverbial  hospitality  and  refinement  of  the  mo- 
ther and  aunt  drew  around  them  a  circle  of  more 
than  usual  cultivation.  The  visits  of  the  itiner- 
ant ministers  of  the  Friends  were  an  element  not 
to  be  overlooked  in  the  religious  development  of 
the  younger  members  of  the  family.  These  visits 
to  the  meetings  and  families  of  their  fellow-mem- 
bers were  more  frequent  seventy-five  years  ago 
than  in  later  times,  and  often  proved  a  source  of 
much  comfort  and  encouragement.  One  of  these 
ministers  from  England,  William  Forster,  the  fa- 
ther of  the  Eight  Honorable  William  Edward 
Forster,  who  was  entertained  at  the  Whittier  man- 
sion, is  referred  to  in  the  poem  "  William  Forster." 

Before  the  days  of  steam  and  electricity,  the 
Eastern  members  of  the  Society,  attending  their 


38  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

Yearly  Meeting  at  Newport,  K.  L,  generally  per- 
formed the  journey  in  their  own  carriages,  depend- 
ing largely  upon  their  friends  for  entertainment 
by  the  way,  in  which  pleasant  service  the  Whit- 
tiers  had  their  full  share,  sometimes  receiving 
under  their  roof  from  ten  to  fifteen  guests. 

Among  the  incidents  of  his  boyhood  which  made 
a  lasting  impress  upon  his  memory  was  a  visit  to 
Salem  with  his  parents  to  attend  a  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing. They  passed  a  tree  then  standing  on  Gal- 
lows Hill,  dead  and  leafless,  but  with  the  heart  still 
apparently  alive,  or  left  sound,  and  he  was  told  that 
this  was  the  tree  upon  which  the  witches  were 
hanged.  He  recollected  having  pointed  out  to  him 
on  the  Rocks  Bridge,  at  East  Haverhill,  the  place 
where  Mr.  Davis,  the  draw-tender,  died,  in  exact 
fulfillment  of  a  vision  he  had  in  which  he  saw  the 
manner  of  his  death.  He  never  doubted  the  reality 
of  this  prophetic  vision. 

These  memories  of  the  village  nearest  to  his 
birthplace  we  find  in  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Whit- 
tier  in  1875  to  a  friend  who  was  also  a  native  of 
East  Haverhill :  — 

"  Your  note  carries  me  back  to  my  boyhood,  to 
the  time  when  I  used  to  know  you  at  4  Rocks 
Village.'  How  well  I  remember  the  place  and 
the  people !  Colonel  Johnson  and  his  tavern ; 
Esquire  Frost  and  his  store ;  Esquire  Ladd  and 
his  blacksmith  shop  ;  Ephraim  B.  Orne  and  his 
combs  ;  Poyen  and  his  cigars  !  How  plainly  rises 
before  me  the  figure  of  Dr.  Weld  in  his  drab  coat 
and  breeches,  —  a  true  gentleman  of  the  old  school, 
— -  a  skillful  physician,  and  benefactor  of  the  peo- 


AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHIC  FRAGMENT       39 

pie !  Colonel  Poor,  who  used  to  search  our  woods 
for  ship  timber ;  widow  Pettee,  who  used  to  make 
my  homespun  coats  and  trousers ;  old  '  aunt 
Morse,'  who  was  regarded  by  the  average  juvenile 
mind  as  a  witch,  —  all  these  and  many  more  are 
associated  with  my  recollections  of  Eocks  Village." 

This  fragment  of  an  autobiography  was  found 
among  Mr.  Whittier's  papers,  and  was  evidently 
written  in  the  days  of  "  Union-saving "  com- 
promises :  — 

"  In  the  order  of  Providence  I  was  born  within 
the  pale  of  a  society  which  had  relieved  itself  of 
the  wrong  and  inconsistency  of  slave-holding  by 
voluntary  emancipation  on  the  part  of  its  mem- 
bers. My  father  was  an  old-fashioned  Democrat, 
and  really  believed  in  the  Preamble  of  the  Bill  of 
Rights,  which  reaffirmed  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. My  mother  used  to  tell  us  the  sad 
story  of  the  kidnapping  and  transportation  of  the 
negro  children.  At  district  school  I  learned  the 
Decalogue  without  any  hint  on  the  part  of  my 
instructors  that  its  every  command  might  be 
piously  violated  for  the  sake  of  fulfilling  prophecy, 
and  insuring  the  curse  of  Canaan.  The  standard 
reading-book  was  the  4  American  Preceptor/  lib- 
erally sprinkled  with  anti-slavery  prose  and  po- 
etry. One  of  the  pieces  rings  in  my  memory  even 
now.  It  was  the  story  of  an  insurgent  slave, — • 
a  black  John  Bruce  :  — 

'  First  of  his  race,  he  led  his  band 

Guardless  of  dangers  hovering  round, 
Till  by  his  bold,  avenging  hand, 
Full  many  a  despot  stained  the  ground.' 


40  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD 

His  arrest,  at  last,  and  cruel  death  by  torture  were 
described,  closing  with  an  appeal  to  the  reader's 
admiration  and  sympathy :  — 

'  Does  not  the  soul  to  Heaven  allied 

Feel  the  full  heart  as  greatly  swell 
As  when  the  Roman  Cato  died, 
Or  when  the  Grecian  victim  fell  ?  ' 

"  In  those  days  there  was  no  Union-saving  com- 
mittee to  do  the  work  of  expurgation,  and  prevent 
the  young  idea  from  shooting  in  the  direction  of 
Liberty.  It  was  never  my  privilege  to  hear  a  pro- 
slavery  sermon,  and  I  grew  up  in  blissful  igno- 
rance of  the  Gospel  according  to  Parson  Adams." 


CHAPTER  II. 

SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES. 

1820-1828. 

UNTIL  lie  was  nineteen  years  of  age,  the  only 
schools  young  Whittier  had  attended  were  the 
meagre  ones  supplied  during  a  small  part  of  the 
year  by  the  district.  He  was  accustomed  to  say 
that  only  two  of  the  teachers  who  were  employed  in 
that  district  during  his  schooldays  were  fit  for  the 
not  very  exacting  position  they  occupied.  Both  of 
these  were  Dartmouth  students :  one  of  them  George 
Haskell,  to  whom  reference  has  already  been  made, 
and  the  other  Joshua  Coffin,  who  afterward  became 
known  as  an  antiquary  and  as  the  historian  of  New- 
bury.  Coffin  was  associated  with  Garrison  and 
Whittier  in  the  beginning  of  their  crusade  against 
slavery,  and  enjoyed  their  friendship  through  life. 

Whittier 's  first  appearance  in  school  was  before 
he  was  of  "  school  age,"  during  a  term  when  Joshua 
Coffin  was  teaching  in  the  district.  He  accompa- 
nied his  older  sister,  Mary,  and  was  too  young  to 
be  placed  in  any  class  except  that  in  which  the  al- 
phabet was  taught.  The  schoolhouse  was  undergo- 
ing repairs  at  that  time,  and  the  school  was  held 
in  the  ell  of  a  dwelling-house  now  standing.  The 
other  part  of  the  house  was  occupied  by  a  tipsy 
and  quarrelsome  couple,  reference  to  which  fact 


42        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY   VERSES 

will  be  found  in  the  poem  "  To  My  Old  School- 
master." Some  years  afterward,  in  1821,  Coffin 
was  again  a  teacher  in  that  district,  and  he  spent 
many  of  his  evenings  at  the  Whittier  homestead, 
a  most  welcome  guest. 

There  were  few  books  in  the  house,  and  most  of 
them  not  of  a  kind  to  satisfy  the  literary  appetite 
of  a  boy  in  his  teens,  who  found  poor  picking  among 
the  dry  journals  and  religious  disquisitions  of  the 
pioneers  of  Quakerism.1  There  were  not  more  than 
thirty  volumes  in  all.  These  and  the  Bible  he  had 
read  and  re-read  until  he  knew  them  by  heart.  It 
may  be  readily  imagined  what  a  new  life  was  opened 
to  him  when  a  lively  student,  fresh  from  college, 
sat  at  the  fireside  and  spoke  familiarly  of  other  lit- 
eratures. His  teacher  brought  with  him  books  of 
travel  and  adventure,  and  read  them  to  his  mother 
and  aunt,  as  they  sat  knitting  by  the  fire.  He 
little  thought  that  the  boy  of  fourteen  was  the  most 
eager  of  his  listeners.  Coffin  told  wise  and  merry 
stories,  and  read  from  books  such  as  otherwise 
would  scarcely  have  entered  this  strictly  Quaker 
household.  One  evening  the  teacher  brought  a  vol- 
ume of  Burns,  and  read  many  pages  from  it,  explain- 
ing the  Scottish  dialect  as  he  proceeded.  Greenleaf 
listened  spellbound  in  his  corner.  A  fire  was  that 
evening  kindled  upon  an  altar  that  grew  not  cold 
for  seventy  years.  Coffin  had  only  thought  of  his  ~ 
older  listeners  as  he  read  and  explained.  But  as 

1  Speaking1  of  the  journals  of  Friends  which  made  so  large  a  part 
of  his  father's  library,  he  said  in  later  life  that  in  his  youth  he  read 
them  so  much  that  he  had  steeped  his  mind  with  their  thoughts. 
He  loved  their  authors  because  they  were  so  saintly,  and  yet  so 
humbly  unconscious  of  it. 


THE   WESTMINSTER   CATECHISM        43 

he  shut  the  book  he  noticed  that  his  tall,  shy  pupil 
was  in  what  Uncle  Moses  had  quaintly  called  his 
"  stood."  He  recalled  the  lad  to  his  ordinary  senses 
by  offering  to  leave  the  book  with  him,  if  he  was 
interested  in  it.  The  offer  was,  of  course,  gladly 
accepted.  What  this  little  volume  thus  loaned  to 
him  was  to  young  Whittier  has  since  been  told 
in  one  of  the  finest  tributes  to  Burns  that  have  yet 
been  written.  He  soon  began  to  try  his  own  wings, 
but  at  great  disadvantage,  hampered  as  he  was  by 
his  surroundings.  He  early  developed  a  love  for 
books  of  biography  and  travel,  and  borrowed  all 
that  were  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood. 

A  story  has  been  published  to  the  effect  that 
young  Whittier  was  punished  at  school  for  refusal 
to  learn  the  Westminster  catechism.  It  had  only 
slight  foundation  in  fact.  The  teacher  required 
the  scholars  to  learn  the  catechism  on  Saturdays 
from  the  New  England  Primer.  Greenleaf  had 
no  Primer,  and  was  told  by  the  teacher  to  get 
one.  His  father  told  him  he  need  not  study  the 
catechism,  as  it  contained  errors.  He  reported  this 
to  the  teacher,  and  the  study  of  the  Primer  was 
not  enforced  in  his  case. 

The  room  occupied  by  the  boys  during  part  of 
their  childhood  was  the  chamber  in  the  northwest- 
ern corner  of  the  second  story.  The  clapboards 
were  gone  from  some  portion  of  the  western  gable 
at  that  time,  and  the  snow  of  winter  sometimes 
sifted  through  the  cracks  upon  their  bed.  In  this 
room  occurred  the  incident  that  has  been  made 
the  theme  of  a  poem  by  J.  T.  Trowbridge.  The 
two  little  Quaker  boys  had  found  they  could  lift 


44        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY   VERSES 

each  other,  and  one  evening  experimented  upon 
the  proposition  made  by  the  elder,  that  by  lifting 
each  other  in  turn  they  could  rise  to  the  ceiling, 
and  there  was  no  knowing  how  much  further,  if 
they  were  out  of  doors  !  To  make  it  easy  in  case 
of  failure  the  prudent  lads  first  tried  the  experi- 
ment of  standing  upon  the  bed  in  this  little  room. 
Trowbridge  says :  — 

"  'T  was  a  shrewd  notion  none  the  less, 
And  still,  in  spite  of  ill  success, 

It  somehow  has  succeeded. 
Kind  Nature  smiled  on  that  wise  child, 

Nor  could  her  love  deny  him 
The  large  fulfillment  of  his  plan  ; 
Since  he  who  lifts  his  brother  man 

In  turn  is  lifted  by  him." 

Whittier's  first  visit  to  Boston  was  made  while 
he  was  yet  in  his  teens,  and  he  was  accustomed  to 
tell  with  much  amusement  his  adventures  on  that 
occasion.  He  was  the  guest  of  his  relative,  Mrs. 
Nathaniel  Greene,  wife  of  the  postmaster  of  Bos- 
ton, who  was  also  editor  of  the  "  Statesman."  Mrs. 
Greene  was  a  descendant  of  his  own  ancestor, 
Rev.  Stephen  Bachiler,  and  she  had  visited  the 
Whittiers  at  their  East  Haverhill  homestead.  On 
this  occasion,  he  wore  for  the  first  time  in  his  life 
"  boughten  buttons  "  upon  his  homespun  Quaker 
coat,  and  it  was  a  surprise  to  him  that  the  bravery 
of  his  apparel  did  not  seem  to  impress  those  who 
passed  him  in  the  street.  He  wore  a  broadbrim 
Quaker  hat  made  for  him  by  his  Aunt  Mercy  out 
of  pasteboard,  covered  with  drab  velvet.  One 
event  which  signalized  this  visit  was  his  purchase 
of  a  copy  of  Shakespeare.  He  had  been  strictly 


SURREPTITIOUS  READING  45 

cautioned  by  his  mother  to  avoid  the  theatre,  and 
when  he  learned  that  a  brilliant  lady  he  met  at 
the  table  of  Mrs.  Greene,  who  had  been  very  kind 
in  her  attentions  to  the  quaint,  shy  boy,  and  who 
had  quite  won  his  heart  by  her  simplicity  and 
grace,  was  an  actress,  it  was  a  great  shock  to  him  ; 
but  he  had  the  courage  to  refuse  her  invitation  to 
the  play-house,  and  cut  short  his  visit  to  the  city 
to  avoid  the  terrible  temptation  to  which  he  was 
subjected.  He  had  gone  quite  too  far  in  buying 
Shakespeare's  plays,  and  fled  homeward  lest  he 
should  bring  disgrace  upon  his  Quakerism.  His 
family  were  surprised  to  see  him  back  so  soon,  but 
he  did  not  dare  to  tell  them  the  startling  episode 
of  his  encounter  with  a  live  actress. 

A  copy  of  one  of  the  Waverley  novels,  then  fresh 
from  the  hand  of  its  unknown  author,  was  some- 
where obtained  by  young  Whittier,  but  the  fact 
was  kept  from  the  knowledge  of  his  parents,  and 
the  book  was  read  with  surreptitious  enthusiasm, 
his  sister  enjoying  with  him  the  literary  banquet. 
He  used  to  tell  how  they  sat  reading  until  late  one 
night,  when  just  as  they  reached  a  critical  part  of 
the  story,  their  candle  burned  to  its  socket,  and, 
sadly  disappointed,  they  were  compelled  to  retire 
in  the  dark, 

Of  the  no  doubt  crude  literary  work  undertaken 
by  Whittier  during  the  next  two  years  after  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Burns,  from  1821  to 
1823,  scarcely  any  vestige  remains.  His  school- 
mates say  he  was  in  the  habit  of  covering  his 
slate  with  rhymes,  which  were  passed  about  from 
desk  to  desk  to  the  great  amusement  of  the 


46       SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY   VERSES 

school.1  When  a  small  boy,  it  was  noticed  by 
the  family  that  after  his  "nightly  chores"  were 
done,  and  they  were  gathered  around  their  eyen- 
ing  fire,  instead  of  doing  sums  on  his  slate,  like 
many  other  boys,  he  was  covering  it  with  verses, 
one  of  which  was  rescued  from  oblivion  by  the 
memory  of  his  older  sister,  and  ran  thus  :  — 

"  And  must  I  always  swing  the  flail, 
And  help  to  fill  the  milking  pail  ? 
I  wish  to  go  away  to  school ; 
I  do  not  wish  to  be  a  fool." 

Another  of  his  earliest  effusions  was  an  attempt 
to  make  a  rhymed  catalogue  of  the  books  in  his 
father's  library.  Here  are  a  few  of  the  verses :  — 

"  The  Bible  towering  o'er  the  rest, 
Of  all  other  books  the  best. 

"  William  Penn's  laborious  writing 
And  a  book  'gainst  Christians  fighting. 

"  A  book  concerning  John's  Baptism, 
Elias  Smith's  Universalism. 

"  How  Captain  Kiley  and  his  crew 
Were  on  Sahara's  desert  threw. 

"  How  Rollins,  to  obtain  the  cash, 
Wrote  a  dull  history  of  trash. 

"  The  Lives  of  Franklin  and  of  Penn, 
Of  Fox  and  Scott,  all  worthy  men. 

"  The  Life  of  Burroughs  too  I  've  read, 
As  big  a  rogue  as  e'er  was  made. 

"  And  Tufts,  too,  though  I  will  be  civil, 
Worse  than  an  incarnate  devil." 

1  It  is  a  tradition  that  his  first  verses  were  written  upon  the 
beam  of  his  mother's  loom. 


AN   OLD  DESK  47 

Greenleaf  began  a  diary  when  he  was  fourteen 
years  old,  his  mother  making  a  book  for  him  by 
folding  and  stitching  some  foolscap  paper.  He 
could  not  think  of  anything  to  write  in  the  diary, 
his  life  on  the  farm  was  so  uneventful.  His  mo- 
ther suggested  that  he  write  of  some  striking  event 
in  the  past  that  had  come  under  his  observation. 
The  only  great  event  he  could  think  of  was  the 
wind-storm  of  1815,  six  years  before ;  l  so  he  wrote 
an  account  of  that,  and  never  afterward  made  an 
entry  in  this,  or  in  any  other  diary. 

The  desk  upon  which  young  Whittier  wrote 
his  first  rhymes  was  even  at  that  time  an  ancient 
piece  of  furniture.  It  had  stood  by  the  eastern 
window  of  the  kitchen  in  the  old  homestead  at 
Haverhill  ever  since  the  days  of  his  great-grand- 
father, the  son  of  the  pioneer,  Thomas  Whittier, 
more  than  a  century  before  the  birth  of  the  poet. 
When  the  family  removed  to  Amesbury,  it  was 
taken  with  them,  but  was  soon  after  replaced  by 
a  new  one,  and  the  old  desk  went  "  out  of  com- 
mission." In  the  summer  of  1891,  Mr.  Whittier's 
niece  had  this  ancient  desk  repaired,  and  as  her 
uncle  was  to  spend  the  next  fall  and  winter  in 
Newburyport,  it  was  sent  to  the  house  of  his  cous- 
ins, the  Cartlands.  Mr.  Whittier  was  greatly 
pleased,  upon  his  arrival,  to  find  in  his  room  the 
heirloom  which  was  hallowed  by  so  many  associa- 
tions connected  not  only  with  his  ancestry,  but 

1  This  cyclone's  path  was  a  few  miles  away  from  the  East 
Parish,  but  Greenleaf  saw  the  whirling  cloud  and  heard  its  roar. 
It  took  off  the  roof  of  the  house  of  his  Aunt  Ruth  Jones,  in 
Amesbury,  and  this  fact  probably  deepened  the  lines  of  his  mem- 
ory of  it. 


48       SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY   VERSES 

with  his  own  early  life.  Nearly  all  the  literary 
work  of  his  last  year  was  Aone  upon  this  desk. 
To  his  niece  he  wrote :  — 

"  I  came  here  day  before  yesterday,  and  found 
it  very  homelike.  I  am  writing  at  the  old  desk, 
which  Gertrude  has  placed  in  my  room,  but  it 
seems  difficult  to  imagine  myself  the  boy  who  used 
to  sit  by  it  and  make  rhymes.  It  is  wonderfully 
rejuvenated  and  is  a  handsome  piece  of  furniture. 
It  was  the  desk  of  my  great-grandfather  [the  first 
Joseph  Whittier],  and  seemed  to  me  a  wretched 
old  wreck  when  thee  took  it  to  Portland.  I  did 
not  suppose  it  could  be  made  either  useful  or  orna- 
mental. I  wrote  my  first  pamphlet  on  slavery, 
4  Justice  and  Expediency,'  upon  it,  as  well  as  a 
great  many  rhymes  which  might  as  well  have  never 
been  written.  I  am  glad  that  it  has  got  a  new 
lease  of  life."1 

One  of  Whittier's  earliest  efforts  at  verse  was  a 
parody  on  "  The  Old  Oaken  Bucket,"  and  was  en- 
titled "  The  Willows."  It  was  never  sent  to  the 
press  by  him,  and  exists  only  in  manuscript,  being 
now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Charles  Aldrich,  of 
the  Iowa  State  Library.  This  is  the  first  stanza : 

1  The  old  desk  has  been  given  by  Mrs.  Pickard,  tog-ether  with 
nearly  all  the  family  heirlooms  which  originally  belonged  at  East 
Haverhill,  and  which  came  into  her  possession,  to  the  trustees 
having  the  ancient  homestead  in  charge,  and  it  will  have  a  per- 
manent place  in  the  same  corner  of  the  old  kitchen  in  which  it 
stood  for  more  than  a  century.  In  renovating  it,  the  memo- 
randa of  farm  events,  written  upon  the  backs  and  bottoms  of 
the  drawers  by  his  father  and  grandfather,  have  been  preserved. 
Among  the  inscriptions  upon  the  outside  of  the  desk,  at  the  back, 
are  the  letters  "  J.  W."  and  the  date  "  1786,"  written  large  in 
black  paint,  by  his  grandfather,  the  second  Joseph  Whittier. 


Mary  Whittier  Caldwell 


EARLY  ASPIRATIONS  49 

"  Oh,  dear  to  my  heart  are  the  scenes  which  delighted 

My  fancy  in  moments  I  ne'er  can  recall, 
When  each  happy  hour  new  pleasures  invited, 

And  hope  pictured  visions  more  holy  than  all. 
Then  I  gazed  with  light  heart,  transported  and  glowing, 

On  the  forest-crowned  hill  and  the  rivulet's  tide, 
O'ershadowed  with  tall  grass  and  rapidly  flowing 

Around  the  lone  willow  that  stood  by  its  side,  — 
The  storm-battered  willow,  the  ivy-bound  willow,  the  water- 
washed  willow  that  grew  by  its  side." 

It  is  written  in  small,  neat,  old-fashioned  chiro- 
graphy,  on  a  foolscap  sheet,  on  the  back  of  which 
is  another  poem  never  published,  entitled  "The 
Emerald  Isle."  There  is  a  clump  of  willows  upon 
Country  Brook,  near  the  Whittier  homestead,  and 
close  by  the  Country  Bridge,  which  the  young  poet 
probably  had  in  mind  when  he  wrote  the  first- 
named  poem. 

While  not  shirking  any  of  the  tasks  that  fell  to 
him  as  the  son  of  a  farmer  who  expected  him  to 
spend  his  life,  as  had  several  generations  of  his 
ancestors,  in  tilling  the  soil,  it  became  evident  at 
an  early  age  that  other  thoughts  and  aspirations 
were  agitating  the  mind  of  the  lad,  although  he 
was  himself  hardly  aware  of  any  disloyalty  to  the 
farm.  His  father  discouraged  what  he  thought  a 
foolish  waste  of  time  over  his  day-dreams,  but  his 
mother  "  hid  these  things  in  her  heart,"  a  little 
hope  mingling  with  her  apprehension  of  an  unset- 
tled life  for  her  son.  His  sister  Mary  actively 
encouraged  him.  He  filled  many  foolscap  pages 
with  neatly  written  verses  on  "  Lafayette,"  "  Con- 
tentment," "  William  Penn,"  "  Benevolence,"  the 
"Death  of  Alexander  of  Russia,"  and  on  other 
themes,  with  no  expectation  of  ever  seeing  them 


50        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY   VERSES 

in  print.  Several  of  these  pages  are  now  extant, 
but  the  verses  written  upon  them  he  never  wished 
to  have  reproduced  in  any  collection  of  his  poems. 
They  are  of  interest  chiefly  as  showing  the  steps 
in  which  he  groped,  amid  unpromising  surround- 
ings, toward  literary  culture.  These  first  poems 
bear  date  from  1823  to  1826  inclusive.  They 
were  written  before  he  had  any  advantage  of  the 
academy  or  access  to  libraries. 

His  sister  Mary,  feeling  confident  that  some  of 
his  poems  were  as  good  as  those  she  saw  in  the 
poet's  corner  of  the  "  Free  Press,"  determined  to 
offer  one  of  them  to  that  paper  without  giving  the 
editor  any  hint  of  the  source  from  whence  it  came. 
William  Lloyd  Garrison  had  just  started  this 
weekly  paper,  in  Newburyport,  and  its  humanita- 
rian tone  so  pleased  the  Quaker  John  Whittier 
that  he  subscribed  for  it.  Garrison  was  only  two 
years  older  than  Whittier,  but  he  began  editorial 
work  at  an  early  age,  and  was  in  literary  experience 
very  much  the  senior  of  the  young  poet.  One  day 
he  found  under  the  door  of  his  office  a  poem  en- 
titled "  The  Exile's  Departure,"  and  signed  "  W." 
The  piece  was  written  during  the  previous  year, 
and  Mary  had  selected  it  as  in  her  opinion  the 
one  most  likely  to  be  accepted.  She  sent  it  with- 
out her  brother's  knowledge.  It  was  therefore  a 
great  surprise  to  the  young  poet  when  he  opened 
the  paper,  and  turned  to  the  column  in  which 
poetry  was  usually  printed,  to  find  his  own  verses 
conspicuously  displayed.  The  paper  came  to  him 
when  he  was  with  his  father  mending  a  stone  wall 
by  the  roadside,  picking  up  and  placing  the  stones 


THE  FREE  PRESS  51 

in  position.  As  they  were  thus  engaged,  the  post- 
man passed  them  on  horseback,  and  tossed  the 
paper  to  the  young  man.  His  heart  stood  still  a 
moment  when  he  saw  his  own  verses.  Such  de- 
light as  his  comes  only  once  in  the  lifetime  of  any 
aspirant  to  literary  fame.  His  father  at  last  called 
to  him  to  put  up  the  paper,  and  keep  at  work.  But 
he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  take  the  pa- 
per again  and  again  from  his  pocket  to  stare  at 
his  lines  in  print.  He  has  said  he  was  sure  that 
he  did  not  read  a  word  of  the  poem  all  the  time  he 
looked  at  it. 

The  date  of  the  "  Free  Press  "  that  contained 
this  poem  was  June  8,  1826.  The  date  of  compo- 
sition was  June  1,  1825.  It  did  not  appear  in  an 
early  collection  of  his  works,  but  may  be  found 
in  the  appendix  of  the  Riverside  edition  of  1888. 
The  success  of  this  venture  induced  the  sending 
of  another  poem,  entitled  "  The  Deity,"  an  ampli- 
fication of  the  sublime  passage  of  Scripture  to 
be  found  in  the  llth  and  12th  verses  of  the  19th 
chapter  of  First  Kings.  This  also  was  written  in 
1825,  and  was  published  in  the  "  Free  Press  "  of 
June  22,  1826.  Mr.  Garrison  introduced  it  with 
the  following  eulogistic  paragraph  :  — 

"  The  author  of  the  following  graphic  sketch, 
which  would  do  credit  to  riper  years,  is  a  youth 
of  only  sixteen,  who  we  think  bids  fair  to  prove 
another  Bernard  Barton,  of  whose  persuasion  he 
is.  His  poetry  bears  the  stamp  of  true  poetic  gen- 
ius, which,  if  carefully  cultivated,  will  rank  him 
among  the  bards  of  his  country." 

By  inquiring  of  the  postman,  Mr.  Garrison  had 


52       SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

learned  the  locality  from  which  the  Haverhill 
poems  emanated,  and  drove  out  to  call  upon  his 
new  and  premising  contributor,  a  distance  of 
fourteen  miles.  The  editor  was  a  neatly  dressed, 
handsome,  and  affable  young  gentleman,  and  his 
coming  to  the  farmhouse  accompanied  by  a  lady 
friend  caused  quite  a  sensation.  Whittier  was  at 
work  in  a  field,  clad  with  reference  to  comfort  in 
a  warm  day,  and  was  disposed  to  excuse  himself, 
but  his  sister  Mary  persuaded  him  to  make  himself 
presentable  and  receive  his  city  visitors.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  life-long  acquaintance  and 
friendship  of  those  two  remarkable  men.  It  ante- 
dates by  some  years  the  anti-slavery  agitation  in 
which  they  were  afterward  intimately  associated. 
Garrison,  with  the  social  tact  that  distinguished 
him,  put  the  shy  youth  at  his  ease  at  once.  He 
heartily  commended  his  work,  and  assured  him  of 
his  belief  in  his  capacity  for  better  things.  He 
advised  him  to  secure  an  education.  Young  Whit- 
tier's  father  came  into  the  room,  and  Garrison 
urged  upon  him  his  duty  to  send  his  son  to  better 
schools  than  those  kept  in  the  district.  The  old 
gentleman  was  not  pleased  with  the  turn  matters 
were  taking,  and  told  Garrison  he  did  not  wish 
him  to  put  such  notions  into  the  boy's  head.1 
For  a  time  the  thought  of  sending  Greenleaf  to 

1  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Garrison,  written  in  1859,  Mr.  Whittier  says 
of  this  incident :  "  My  father  did  not  oppose  me  ;  he  was  proud  of 
my  pieces,  but  as  he  was  in  straitened  circumstances  he  could 
do  nothing  to  aid  me.  He  was  a  man  in  advance  of  his  times, 
remarkable  for  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  freedom  from 
popular  errors  of  thinking.  My  mother  always  encouraged  me, 
and  sympathized  with  me," 


THE  HAVERHILL   GAZETTE  53 

an  academy  was  given  up  ;  Garrison  had  removed 
to  Boston,  and  the  young  poet  offered  his  verses  to 
the  Haverhill  "  Gazette,"  which  had  recently  come 
into  the  possession  of  Mr.  Abijah  W.  Thayer,  who 
had  previously  edited  a  paper  in  Portland.  Mr. 
Thayer  had  such  a  high  opinion  of  his  young 
contributor  that  in  January,  1827,  he  went  to  his 
father,  as  Mr.  Garrison  had  done  a  few  months 
earlier,  to  urge  him  to  give  his  son  a  classical  edu- 
cation. A  new  academy  was  soon  to  be  opened  in 
Haverhill,  and  he  could  attend  it  and  spend  a  part 
of  each  week  at  his  home.  The  old  gentleman 
took  into  consideration  the  fact  that  two  years 
before  Greenleaf  had  seriously  injured  himself  by 
attempting  farm  work  that  was  too  heavy  for  him, 
and  was  at  length  inclined  to  yield,  though  pro- 
testing it  was  contrary  to  Friends'  custom  to  ac- 
quire the  polish  of  literary  culture.  The  mother 
asked  Mr.  Thayer  if  he  would  take  Greenleaf  into 
his  family,  and  this  was  readily  promised.  The 
only  problem  that  now  proved  troublesome  was 
how  to  obtain  the  money  needed  to  defray  ex- 
penses. When  John  Whittier  bought  the  interest 
of  the  other  heirs  in  his  father's  estate,  he  assumed 
a  debt  that  was  not  yet  fully  paid.  There  was  a 
mortgage  of  $ 600  upon  the  farm,  and  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  get  ready  money  for  their  farm  products, 
beyond  what  was  required  to  pay  taxes  and  the 
interest  on  the  debt.  The  Whittier  orchard  at 
that  time  had  no  grafted  apples ;  there  were  plenty 
of  cranberries  in  the  meadow,  and  other  berries  in 
the  upland  ;  enough  of  ship-timber  and  firewood  in 
the  forests,  but  there  was  then  no  market  for  any 
of  these  things. 


54        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

The  young  man  had  permission  to  attend  the 
academy,  but  he  must  pay  his  own  way.  This 
task  he  set  about  with  a  glad  heart.  An  opportu- 
nity soon  appeared.  A  man  who  worked  in  the 
summer  upon  his  father's  farm  made  a  cheap  kind 
of  slippers  in  the  winter,  and  he  offered  to  instruct 
young  Whittier  in  the  art.  The  offer  was  gladly 
accepted,  and,  as  it  was  the  simplest  kind  of  sandal 
that  was  to  be  made,  the  mystery  of  the  trade  was 
soon  acquired.  The  retail  price  of  the  slippers 
was  only  twenty-five  cents  a  pair,  and  he  received 
but  eight  cents  a  pair  for  his  work ;  and  yet  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1826-27  enough  was  earned  to 
pay  the  expense  of  a  term  of  six  months  at  the 
academy.  He  calculated  so  closely  every  item  of 
expense  that  he  knew  before  the  beginning  of  the 
term  that  he  would  have  twenty-five  cents  to  spare 
at  its  close,  and  he  actually  had  this  sum  of  money 
in  his  pocket  when  his  half  year  of  study  was  over. 
It  was  the  rule  of  his  whole  life  never  to  buy  any- 
thing until  he  had  the  money  in  hand  to  pay  for 
it,  and  although  his  income  was  small  and  uncer- 
tain until  past  middle  life,  he  was  never  in  debt. 

James  F.  Otis,  a  nephew  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis, 
while  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Nathan 
Crosby,  in  1827,  found  in  a  newspaper  a  piece  of 
poetry  which  he  was  told  was  written  by  a  shoe- 
maker in  Haverhill,  and  he  wished  to  go  and  find 
him.  Upon  his  return,  he  told  Mr.  Crosby  that 
he  found  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Whittier, 
at  work  in  his  shoe-shop,  and  making  himself 
known  to  him,  they  spent  the  day  together  in 
wandering  over  the  hills,  and  on  the  shores  of  the 


AT   THE   HAVERHILL  ACADEMY          55 

Merrimac,  in  conversation  on  literary  matters., 
Otis,  who  was  himself  a  poet,  afterward  became 
an  intimate  friend  of  Whittier,  and  accompanied 
him  to  Philadelphia,  as  a  delegate  to  the  anti- 
slavery  convention  of  1833.  Later,  Otis  went 
South,  and  became  an  apologist  for  slavery. 

On  the  first  day  of  May,  1827,  Whittier  began 
his  "  higher  education  "  at  the  Haverhill  Academy, 
and  the  event  was  signalized  in  a  way  that  gave 
him  a  reputation  at  once.  It  was  the  first  term 
of  a  new  academy,  for  which  a  fine  brick  building 
had  just  been  completed.  The  institution  was 
formally  opened  on  the  30th  of  April,  and  the 
dedicatory  oration  was  delivered  by  the  Hon. 
Leverett  Saltonstall,  of  Salem.  The  programme 
announced  that  an  ode  was  to  be  sung,  "  composed 
for  the  occasion  by  John  G.  Whittier,  of  this 
town."  '  The  principal  of  the  new  school  was 
Oliver  Carlton.  The  fact  that  a  young  citizen  of 
the  town,  who  was  to  be  a  student  in  the  school, 
had  written  the  ode  for  an  important  public  cere- 
mony gave  him  a  certain  social  and  literary  dis- 
tinction at  the  start.  He  studied  the  ordinary 
English  branches,  and  also  took  lessons  in  French. 
He  took  especial  delight  in  the  access  he  obtained 
to  the  best  private  libraries  in  the  village.1 

One  can  imagine  the  surprise  and  pleasure  of 
such  a  mind  as  his  when  great  fields  of  literature 

1  At  the  dedication  of  the  Haverhill  Library,  in  1875,  Mr. 
Whittier  wrote  to  Mayor  Currier :  "  When  my  old  friend  James 
Gale  set  up  his  circulating  librai-y,  it  was  the  opening  of  a  new 
world  of  enjoyment  to  me.  I  can  still  remember  the  feeling  of 
mingled  awe  and  pleasure  with  which  I  gazed  for  the  first  time 
on  his  croAvd^d  bookshelves." 


56        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

hitherto  closed  to  him  were  thrown  open.  He  was 
in  the  prime  of  his  young  manhood  when  he  took 
his  first  plunge  into  the  glorious  Shakespearian 
flood.  While  reveling  in  the  poetry  of  the  great 
masters,  in  the  adventures  of  travelers,  in  the  his- 
tory of  nations,  and  in  the  wit  and  satire  of  Sterne 
and  Swift,  he  neither  neglected  his  studies,  nor 
omitted  frequently  to  try  his  own  wings  in  song. 
These  first  six  months  of  academy  life  were  full 
of  intense  activity.  He  had  written  in  1825 
and  1826  about  a  dozen  poems,  which  are  extant, 
although  some  of  them  were  never  printed.  In 
1827,  there  were  published,  in  the  Haverhill 
"  Gazette "  alone,  forty-seven  of  his  poems,  and 
forty-nine  in  1828.  As  he  found  these  copied  by 
other  papers,  he  occasionally  sent  his  work  to  the 
Boston  "  Statesman,"  edited  by  Nathaniel  Greene, 
a  kinsman  of  his,  and  to  the  "National  Philan- 
thropist," edited  by  Garrison  after  he  gave  up  the 
"Free  Press."  He  used  a  variety  of  signatures, 
a  favorite  one  being  "  Adrian ; "  when  he  wrote 
in  the  Scottish  dialect  he  took  the  name  of  "  Don- 
ald ; "  and  still  further  to  conceal  his  identity  he 
occasionally  signed  his  poems  "Timothy,"  "Mi- 
cajah,"  and  "  Ichabod."  All  not  signed  with 
either  of  these  names  had  the  letter  "  W."  for  sig- 
nature. The  first  poem  that  appeared  with  his 
full  name  was  a  long  one,  entitled  "  The  Outlaw," 
printed  in  the  "Gazette,"  October  28,  1828. 
Nearly  all  have  dates  indicating  the  year  and  the 
month  of  their  composition.  There  were  ten 
poems  written  in  the  two  months  before  he  entered 
the  academy,  besides  the  ode  sung  at  the  dedica- 
tion. Of  this  ode  no  copy  has  been  found. 


WARFARE   UPON  THE  SALOONS          57 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1828,  the  "  Gazette  " 
had  a  prose  article  by  Whittier  on  Robert  Burns. 
The  next  week  he  contributed  an  article  on  "  Tem- 
perance." Mr.  Thayer  was  one  of  the  first  editors 
in  the  country  to  publish  regularly  articles  on  this 
1  theme,  and  he  secured  the  ill-will  of  the  dealers  in, 
and  distillers  of,  intoxicants  by  his  plain  speaking. 
He  was  also  justice  of  the  peace,  and  had  a  hand 
in  disciplining  the  "rummies."  Mr.  Whittier 
assisted  him  in  this  warfare  upon  the  saloons,  and 
after  Mr.  Thayer  removed  to  Philadelphia,  Whittier 
wrote  to  him  February  16, 1836  :  "  Esquire  Parker 
wishes  me  to  remember  him  to  thee.  We  have 
been  lamenting  over  thy  departure,  and  wishing  it 
were  possible  for  thee  to  sit  once  more  in  judgment 
over  the  rascals  that  are  now  4  unwhipped  of  jus- 
tice.' Parker  wishes  me  to  tell  thee,  that  as  the 
only  way  of  keeping  the  streets  clear  of  the  '  rum- 
'uns,'  he  has  lately  sent  them  off  by  the  baker's 
dozen  to  Ipswich." 

One  year  later  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  writing 
from  Amesbury,  whither  he  had  meantime  removed, 
"  I  have  one  item  of  good  news  from  Haverhill. 
The  old  distillery  has  had  its  fires  quenched  at  last. 
C.  has  sold  out,  and  the  building  is  to  be  converted 
into  stores." 

While  attending  the  academy  he  boarded,  accord- 
ing to  promise,  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Thayer,  who 
proved  to  be  a  valuable  friend  and  adviser,  not 
only  at  that  time  but  in  later  years.  In  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Thayer's  son,1  written  in  1877,  he  says: 
"  I  never  think  of  thy  mother  without  feelings  of 

1  Professor  James  B.  Thayer,  of  the  Harvard  Law  School. 


58       SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

love  and  gratitude.  She  and  thy  father  were  my 
best  friends  in  the  hard  struggle  of  ray  school- 
days." Every  Friday  night  he  walked  to  East 
Haverhill,  spent  the  Sabbath  at  the  old  homestead, 
and  delighted  the  hearts  of  his  family  with  his 
companionship  and  his  reports  of  school  life. 
Mrs.  Thayer,  in  her  reminiscences  of  the  poet1  as 
he  appeared  in  those  days,  said  she  remembered 
his  handsome  face  and  figure,  and  the  appearance 
of  extreme  neatness  he  always  bore ;  but  she  had 
more  to  say  of  the  liveliness  of  his  temper,  his 
ready  wit,  his  perfect  courtesy,  and  infallible  sense 
of  truth  and  justice.  On  account  of  his  abilities 
and  his  exemplary  conduct,  no  less  than  on  account 
of  his  reputation  as  a  rising  poet,  his  society  was 
much  sought  after.  Whenever  he  came  to  Ha- 
verhill, in  after  years,  he  made  his  home  with 
the  Thayers,  until  they  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
where  Mr.  Thayer  set  up  a  new  paper.  When 
Mr.  Whittier  went  to  Philadelphia,  he  again  be- 
came an  inmate  of  their  house. 

The  late  Mrs.  Harriet  Minot  Pitman,  a  daughter 
of  Judge  Minot,  an  intimate  and  lifelong  friend 
and  correspondent  of  Mr.  Whittier,  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing sketch  of  his  personal  appearance  and  man- 
ners in  his  youth  :  2  — 

"  He  was  nearly  nineteen  years  old  when  I  first 
saw  him.  He  was  a  very  handsome,  distinguished- 
looking  young  man.  His  eyes  were  remarkably 
beautiful.  He  was  tall,  slight,  and  very  erect ;  a 
bashful  youth,  but  never  awkward,  my  mother 

1  Underwood's  Life,  p.  73. 

2  Underwood's  Life,  pp.  75-77. 


APPEARANCE  AND  MANNERS  59 

said,  who  was  a  better  judge  than  I  of  such  mat- 
ters. There  were  pupils  at  the  academy  of  all 
ages,  from  ten  to  twenty-five.  My  brother,  George 
Minot,  then  about  ten  years  old,  used  to  say  that 
Whittier  was  the  best  of  all  the  big  fellows,  and 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  him  '  Uncle  Toby.' 
Whittier  was  always  kind  to  children,  and  under 
a  very  grave  and  quiet  exterior  there  was  a  real 
love  of  fun,  and  a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous.  In 
society  he  was  embarrassed,  and  his  manners  were, 
in  consequence,  sometimes  brusque  and  cold. 
With  intimate  friends  he  talked  a  great  deal,  and 
in  a  wonderfully  interesting  manner  ;  usually  ear- 
nest, often  analytical,  and  frequently  playful.  He 
had  a  great  deal  of  wit.  It  was  a  family  charac- 
teristic. The  study  of  human  nature  was  very 
interesting  to  him,  and  his  insight  was  keen.  He 
liked  to  draw  out  his  young  friends,  and  to  suggest 
puzzling  doubts  and  queries.  When  a  wrong  was 
to  be  righted,  or  an  evil  to  be  remedied,  he  was 
readier  to  act  than  any  young  man  I  ever  knew, 
and  was  very  wise  in  his  action,  —  shrewd,  sensi- 
ble, practical.  The  influence  of  his  Quaker  bring- 
ing-up  was  manifest.  I  think  it  was  always  his 
endeavor 

*  to  render  less 
The  sum  of  human  wretchedness.' 

This,  I  say,  was  his  steadfast  endeavor,  in  spite 
of  an  inborn  love  of  teasing.  He  was  very  modest, 
never  conceited,  never  egotistic.  One  could  never 
flatter  him.  I  never  tried,  but  I  have  seen  people 
attempt  it,  and  it  was  a  signal  failure.  He  did 
not  flatter,  but  told  very  wholesome  and  unpala- 


60       SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

table  truths,  yet  in  a  way  to  spare  one's  self-lovfe 
by  admitting  a  doubt  whether  he  was  in  earnest  or 
in  jest.  The  great  questions  of  Calvinism  were  sub- 
jects of  which  he  often  talked  in  those  early  days. 
He  was  exceedingly  conscientious.  He  cared  for 
people,  —  quite  as  much  for  the  plainest  and  most 
uncultivated,  if  they  were  original  and  had  some- 
thing in  them,  as  for  the  most  polished.  He  was 
much  interested  in  politics,  and  thoroughly  posted. 
I  remember,  in  one  of  his  first  calls  at  our  house, 
being  surprised  at  his  conversation  with  my  father 
upon  Governor  Gerry  and  the  Gerrymandering  of 
the  State,  or  the  attempt  to  do  it,  of  which  I  had 
until  then  been  wholly  ignorant.  He  had  a  reten- 
tive memory,  and  a  marvelous  store  of  information 
on  many  subjects.  I  once  saw  a  little  common- 
place book  of  his,  —  full  of  quaint  things,  and  as 
interesting  as  Southey's." 

In  a  letter  written  a  dozen  years  after  this  date, 
Whittier  refers  to  himself  at  this  period  in  the 
following  terms :  — 

"  For  myself,  I  owe  much  to  the  kind  encour- 
agement of  female  friends.  A  bashful,  ignorant 
boy,  I  was  favored  by  the  kindness  of  a  lady  who 
saw,  or  thought  she  saw,  beneath  the  clownish 
exterior  something  which  gave  promise  of  intel- 
lect and  worth.  The  powers  of  my  own  mind,  the 
mysteries  of  my  own  spirit,  were  revealed  to  my- 
self, only  as  they  were  called  out  by  one  of  those 
dangerous  relations  called  cousins,  who,  with  all 
her  boarding-school  glories  upon  her,  condescended 
to  smile  upon  my  rustic  simplicity.  She  was  so 
learned  in  the  to  me  more  than  occult  mysteries 


THE  POEMS   OF  ADRIAN  61 

of  verbs  and  nouns,  and  philosophy,  and  botany, 
and  mineralogy,  and  French,  and  all  that,  and 
then  she  had  seen  something  of  society,  and  could 
talk  (an  accomplishment  at  that  time  to  which  I 
could  lay  no  claim),  that  on  the  whole  I  looked 
upon  her  as  a  being  to  obtain  whose  good  opin- 
ion no  effort  could  be  too  great.  I  smile  at  this 
sometimes,  —  this  feeling  of  my  unsophisticated 
boyhood,  —  yet  to  a  great  degree  it  is  still  with 
me." 

In  January,  1828,  Mr.  Thayer  issued  the  pro- 
spectus of  a  book  to  be  published  by  subscription, 
from  which  we  make  this  extract :  — 

"  THE  POEMS  OF  ADRIAN.  —  Many  of  the  poems 
now  proposed  to  be  published  originally  appeared 
in  the  *  Essex  Gazette,'  and  were  very  favorably 
received  by  its  readers.  Some  of  them  have  been 
copied  into  the  most  respectable  papers,  in  various 
sections  of  the  Union,  with  strong  expressions 
of  approbation.  When  the  circumstances  under 
which  these  poems  were  written  are  known,  they 
will  be  particularly  interesting.  The  author  (a 
native  of  this  town)  is  a  young  man,  about  nine- 
teen years  of  age,  who  has  had,  until  very  recently, 
no  other  means  of  education  than  are  afforded  in  a 
common  district  school,  and  such  as  he  improved 
in  the  leisure  hours  of  an  apprenticeship  to  a  me- 
chanical business.  It  is  believed  by  his  friends 
that  these  poems  indicate  genius  of  a  high  order, 
which  deserves  all  possible  culture.  The  design 
of  thus  offering  his  juvenile  writings  to  the  public 
is  to  raise  money  to  assist  him  in  obtaining  a  clas- 
sical education.  He  is  a  worthy  member  of  the 


62        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

Society  of  Friends,  and  it  is  hoped  that  from  them 
the  volume  will  receive  a  liberal  patronage." 

The  proposed  volume  was  to  be  printed  on 
superfine  paper,  to  contain  about  two  hundred 
pages,  and  be  done  up  in  boards,  at  the  price  of 
seventy-five  cents.  For  some  reason,  this  enter- 
prise was  not  carried  out  by  Mr.  Thayer.  During 
his  second  term  in  the  academy,  Mr.  Whittier 
made  considerable  progress  in  compiling  a  history 
of  the  town  of  Haverhill,  but  when  he  was  called 
away  to  Boston  in  the  fall  of  1828,  he  gave  the 
materials  he  had  collected  to  Mr.  B.  L.  Mirick, 
who  completed  the  work,  and  it  was  published  by 
Mr.  Thayer  in  1831. 

The  Carrier's  New  Year's  Address  of  the  "  Ga- 
zette," for  1828,  was  written  by  Mr.  Whittier,  as 
was  also  that  for  1829,  which  he  sent  from  Boston. 
The  year's  doings  in  the  town  are  recounted  in  a 
lively  way  in  each  of  these  poems.  There  was  a 
fire  in  the  village  in  1827,  which  called  out  several 
amusing  stanzas,  of  which  one  is  given  below,  and 
also  one  about  the  ghost  that  was  troubling  the 
East  Parish.  A  note  gives  the  information  that 
many  years  previously  a  ghost  was  sent  in  "  quest 
of  wretches,"  and  ordered  to  traverse  the  space 
between  Country  Bridge  and  the  residence  of 
Black  Peter,  and  it  was  grimly  added  that  "  the 
ghost  is  still  doing  duty  :  "  — 

"  The  old  dumbetty  engine  poised  on  high 
Wet  all  around,  but  kindly  spared  the  fire  ; 
And  strangers,  dripping  as  they  hurried  by, 
Cursed  the  old  wreck,  and  bade  them  push  it  nigher  ; 
For,  like  the  gun  that  honest  Paddy  bore, 
It  carried  all  behind  it  —  and  before  ! 


THE   COUNTRY  BRIDGE  GHOST          63 

"  Shad  Parish  still  continues  much  the  same  ; 
The  unwearied  ghost  still  watches  Country  Bridge, 
Or  walks  with  clattering  teeth  and  eyes  of  flame 
From  his  old  station  up  to  Peter's  Ridge  ; 
Nay,  smile  not,  reader,  but  as  truth  receive  it.  — 
Shad  Parish  women  to  a  man  believe  it !  " 

Mr.  Whittier  wrote  a  series  of  prose  articles  OE 
War,  which  were  published  in  the  "  Gazette  "  in 
1828.  His  poems  began  to  be  plagiarized  in  the 
same  year.  In  February,  1828,  the  Philadelphia 
"  Saturday  Evening  Post "  apologized  for  an  in- 
stance of  this  kind,  by  which  it  was  hoaxed. 

This  anecdote,  in  which  reference  is  made  to 
the  "  Country  Bridge  ghost,"  is  told  by  Rebecca 
I.  Davis,  author  of  "  Reminiscences  of  Merrimac 
Valley,"  as  part  of  a  conversation  she  had  with 
Whittier  in  1884.  She  had  told  him  of  a  recent 
visit  to  his  birthplace,  and  spoke  of  "  Peter's 
Ridge  "  (mentioned  in  "  The  Countess  ")  and 
"  Country  Bridge,"  and  his  eye  caught  some  of 
its  youthful  fire,  she  says,  as  he  laughingly  related 
an  incident  of  his  boyhood  days  in  connection  with 
the  haunted  bridge,  where  it  is  said  the  "  unwea- 
ried ghost  still  watches." 

"  I  remember,"  he  said,  "  when  a  small  boy,  of 
being  extremely  startled  by  a  woman  coming  to 
our  house  in  the  evening  in  great  fright,  saying 
she  had  seen  a  headless  ghost  as  she  came  by 
Country  Bridge,  which  fact  caused  several  of  us 
lads  to  go  one  moonlight  night,  myself  promising 
to  run  upon  the  bridge,  and  call  for  the  headless 
ghost.  Never  shall  I  forget  how  my  courage  failed 
when  in  sight,  but  true  to  my  promise,  I  ran,  and 
shouted  for  the  ghost  to  come  forth,  and  imme- 
diately ran  from  the  scene  with  all  my  might." 


64        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

A  reminiscence  of  the  same  period,  pertaining 
to  the  witchcraft  fancies  of  the  time,  occurs  in  a 
letter  by  Mr.  Whittier,  in  1883,  to  his  old  school- 
mate, Mr.  C.  C.  Chase  :  — 

"  It  was  old  Mrs.  C ,  wife  of  Moses  C , 

of  Rocks  Village,  a  brother  of  Uncle  Aaron's  father, 
who  lived  at  Corliss  Hill,  whose  relatives  believed 
her  a  witch,  and  one  of  her  nieces  knocked  her 
down  in  the  shape  of  a  persistent  bug  that  troubled 
her,  and  at  the  same  time  the  old  woman  fell  and 
hurt  her  head !  Old  Aunt  Morse,  on  one  occasion, 
went  before  Squire  Ladd,  the  old  blacksmith  and 
justice  of  the  peace  at  the  Rocks,  and  took  her 
oath  that  she  was  not  a  witch  !  I  visited  the  site 
of  our  old  schoolhouse  a  year  ago.  I  thought  of 
Ossian's  lament,  '  I  passed  by  the  walls  of  Bal- 
clutha  and  found  them  desolate  ;  the  fox  looked 
out  of  the  window.'  Not  a  fox,  but  a  striped 
squirrel  sat  on  the  wall,  and  watched  me  as  I  pon- 
dered on  old  days." 

Whittier's  first  and  only  experience  as  a  school- 
master was  in  the  winter  of  1827-28.  He  took 
a  school  in  the  Birch  Meadow  district,  in  West 
Amesbury,  now  Merrimac,  and  earned  enough  to 
pay  for  another  term  at  the  academy.  He  went 
to  be  examined  as  to  his  qualifications  for  teaching 
with  many  misgivings ;  but  the  committee  asked 
only  for  a  specimen  of  his  handwriting.  He  had 
no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  this,  for  his  penman- 
ship, modeled  upon  the  style  prevailing  during  the 
previous  century,  was  neat  and  regular.  His  prin- 
cipal trouble  as  a  pedagogue  was  with  the  mathe- 
matical puzzles  the  large  boys  would  bring  him  for 


A   RHYMED  EPISTLE  65 

solution.  A  failure  to  solve  these  was  a  disgrace 
to  a  teacher  in  those  days.  As  a  descendant  of  the 
Greenleaf s  he  inherited  some  facility  with  figures ; 
but  the  problems  handed  him  by  the  mischievous 
young  men  among  his  scholars  cost  him  many  a 
sleepless  night.  He  wrote  several  poems  during 
this  winter,  one  of  which,  never  published,  was  a 
rhymed  epistle  to  the  editor  of  the  Haverhill 
"  Gazette."  It  has  been  preserved  by  his  daughter, 
Sarah  S.  Thayer,  and  is  here  given  :  — 

[WEST]  AMESBURY,  February  15,  1828. 

FRIEND  THAYER  : 

The  troubles  of  a  pedagogue 

Nae  mair  my  wanderin'  muse  shall  clog ; 

The  management  of  fool  and  rogue 

Is  fairly  done  with, 
An'  I  can  rhyme  the  same  auld  jog 

My  muse  begun  with. 

Last  night  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eaton 
My  Pandemonium  took  a  seat  in, 
With  half  a  dozen  mair  completin* 

The  school  committee, 
With  questions  hard  my  rabble  treatin', 

Devoid  of  pity. 

It  turned  out  weel  enough,  however ; 
My  scholars  answered  pretty  clever, 
And  baffled  somehow  each  endeavor 

To  prove  them  fools, 
And  for  the  full  time  really  never 

Transgressed  my  rules. 

I  thank'd  them  for 't.     I  wish  you  could 
Have  heard  my  speech  —  't  was  really  good. 
I  said  they  had  the  gratitude 

Of  friends  an'  tutor, 
And  then  advised  them  how  they  should 

Behave  in  future. 


66        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

No  parson's  sermon  e'er  was  graver, 

It  had  the  very  pulpit  flavor, 

Yet  with  the  unction  and  the  savor 

Of  my  entreating 
Was  doubtless  something  of  the  quaver 

Of  Monthly  Meeting. 

This  scrawl  by  Nathan  Chase  I  send  it, 
In  haste  as  thou  may  see  I  penned  it  ; 
To  write  a  lengthy  song  or  mend  it, 

I  have  no  leisure. 
To  see  thee  soon  I  sure  intend  it, 

With  greatest  pleasure. 


If  you  have  got  the  "  Rustics  "  done, 
By  Nathan  please  to  sen'  me  one, 
And  I  will  try  my  hand  upon 

A  short  review,1 
Before  the  critics  have  begun 

To  search  it  through. 

But  Nathan  on  his  old  gray  mare 

Sits  waiting  — •  I  've  no  time  to  spare  -— 

My  best  respects  to  Mrs.  Thayer, 

An'  all  who  trouble  you 
With  any  question,  how  may  fare 

Their  young  friend, 

"  W." 

In  the  edition  of  the  poems  of  Robert  Dinsmoor, 
there  is  a  poem  addressed  to  the  author  by  John 
G.  Whittier  which  is  not  included  in  his  complete 
works.  It  was  the  first  poem  of  his  to  appear  in 
any  book.  This  stanza  of  it  sounds  like  the  pre- 
monitory call  of  the  "  Voices  of  Freedom  :  "  — 

1  This  review  of  a  volume  of  poems  by  Robert  Dinsmoor,  of 
Windham,  N.  H.,  known  as  the  "Rustic  Bard,"  may  be  found, 
with  some  additions,  in  Mr.  Whittier's  Prose  Works,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
245-260.  The  poems  were  printed  at  the  office  of  the  Haverhill 
Gazette,  during  the  winter  of  1827-28. 


THE  SONG   GF  THE    VERMONTERS      67 

"  Shall  vice  an'  crime  that  taint  the  nation, 

Pass  on  unheeded  ? 
No  !  let  the  muse  her  trumpet  take 
'Til  auld  offenders  learn  to  shake, 
An'  tremble  when  they  hear  her  wake 

Her  tones  of  thunder  ; 
'Til  pride  an'  bloated  ignorance  quake, 

An'  gawkies  wonder." 

Mr.  Whittier  returned  to  the  academy  in  the 
spring  of  1828,  and  after  six  months  of  study  his 
schooldays  were  ended.  He  had  partially  defrayed 
the  expenses  of  his  last  term  at  the  academy  by 
posting  the  ledgers  of  a  Haverhill  merchant. 

It  was  during  his  schooldays  that  Whittier 
wrote  "  The  Song  of  the  Vermonters,  1779,"  and 
some  years  after  sent  it  anonymously  to  J.  T. 
Buckingham,  who  published  it  in  the  "  New 
England  Magazine "  in  1833.  As  it  was  not  a 
"  Quakerly  "  poem,  its  author  never  claimed  it  as 
his,  and  it  was  a  surprise  to  him  when,  nearly 
sixty  years  after  it  was  written,  it  appeared  with 
his  name  attached  to  it.  In  the  long  meantime 
it  had  been  extensively  copied,  and  in  some  cases 
credited  to  Ethan  Allen.  In  March,  1887,  there 
was  controversy  about  the  authorship,  and  Mr. 
Whittier  wrote  this  letter  to  the  Boston  "  Tran- 
script :  "  — 

"'The  Song  of  the  Vermonters,  by  Ethan 
Allen,'  was  a  piece  of  boyish  mystification,  written 
sixty  years  ago  and  printed  anonymously.  The 
only  person  who  knew  its  authorship  was  my  old 
friend  Joseph  T.  Buckingham,  and  I  supposed  the 
secret  died  with  him.  We  were  both  amused  to 
find  it  regarded  by  antiquarian  authorities  as  a 


68       SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

genuine  relic  of  the  old  time.  How  the  secret  was 
discovered,  a  few  years  ago,  I  have  never  known. 
I  have  never  intentionally  written  anything  in 
favor  of  war,  but  a  great  deal  against  it." 

THE  SONG  OF  THE  VERMONTERS,  1779, 

Ho  —  all  to  the  borders !     Vermonters,  come  down, 
With  your  breeches  of  deerskin  and  jackets  of  brown ; 
With  your  red  woolen  caps,  and  your  moccasins,  come, 
To  the  gathering  summons  of  trumpet  and  drum. 

Come  down  with  your  rifles !     Let  gray  wolf  and  for 
Howl  on  in  the  shade  of  their  primitive  rocks ; 
Let  the  bear  feed  securely  from  pig-pen  and  stall ; 
Here 's  two-legged  game  for  your  powder  and  ball. 

On  our  south  come  the  Dutchmen,  enveloped  in  grease ; 
And  arming  for  battle  while  canting  of  peace  ; 
On  our  east,  crafty  Meshech  has  gathered  his  band 
To  hang  up  our  leaders  and  eat  up  our  land. 

Ho  —  all  to  the  rescue  !     For  Satan  shall  work 
No  gain  for  his  legions  of  Hampshire  and  York ! 
They  claim  our  possessions  —  the  pitiful  knaves  — 
The  tribute  we  pay  shall  be  prisons  and  graves ! 

Let  Clinton  and  Ten  Broek,  with  bribes  in  their  hands, 
Still  seek  to  divide  and  parcel  our  lands  ; 
We  've  coats  for  our  traitors,  whoever  they  are  ; 
The  warp  is  of  feathers  —  the  filling  of  tar  : 

Does  the  "old  Bay  State  "  threaten?     Does  Congress  com- 
plain ? 

Swarms  Hampshire  in  arms  on  our  borders  again  ? 
Bark  the  war-dogs  of  Britain  aloud  on  the  lake  — 
Let  'em  come ;  what  they  can  they  are  welcome  to  take. 

What  seek  they  among  us  ?     The  pride  of  our  wealth 
Is  comfort,  contentment,  and  labor,  and  health, 
And  lands  which,  as  Freemen,  we  only  have  trod, 
Independent  of  all,  save  the  mercies  of  God. 


THE  SONG   OF  THE  VERMONTERS       69 

Yet  we  owe  no  allegiance,  we  bow  to  no  throne, 
Our  ruler  is  law,  and  the  law  is  our  own ; 
Our  leaders  themselves  are  our  own  fellow-men, 
Who  can  handle  the  sword,  or  the  scythe,  or  the  pen. 

Our  wives  are  all  true,  and  our  daughters  are  fair, 
With  their  blue  eyes  of  smiles  and  their  light  flowing  hair, 
All  brisk  at  their  wheels  till  the  dark  even-fall, 
Then  blithe  at  the  sleigh-ride,  the  husking,  and  ball ! 

We  've  sheep  on  the  hillsides,  we  've  cows  on  the  plain, 
And  gay-tasseled  corn-fields  and  rank-growing  grain ; 
There  are  deer  on  the  mountains,  and  wood-pigeons  fly 
From  the  crack  of  our  muskets,  like  clouds  on  the  sky. 

And  there 's  fish  in  our  streamlets  and  rivers  which  take 
Their  course  from  the  hills  to  our  broad-bosomed  lake  ; 
Through  rock-arched  Winooski  the  salmon  leaps  free, 
And  the  portly  shad  follows  all  fresh  from  the  sea. 

Like  a  sunbeam  the  pickerel  glides  through  the  pool, 
And  the  spotted  trout  sleeps  where  the  water  is  cool, 
Or  darts  from  his  shelter  of  rock  and  of  root 
At  the  beaver's  quick  plunge,  or  the  angler's  pursuit. 

And  ours  are  the  mountains,  which  awfully  rise, 

Till  they  rest  their  green  heads  on  the  blue  of  the  skies  j 

And  ours  are  the  forests  unwasted,  unshorn, 

Save  where  the  wild  path  of  the  tempest  is  torn. 

And  though  savage  and  wild  be  this  climate  of  ours, 
And  brief  be  our  season  of  fruits  and  of  flowers, 
Far  dearer  the  blast  round  our  mountains  which  raves 
Than  the  sweet  summer  zephyr  which  breathes  over  slaves! 

Hurrah  for  Vermont !     For  the  land  which  we  till 
Must  have  sons  to  defend  her  from  valley  and  hill ; 
Leave  the  harvest  to  rot  on  the  fields  where  it  grows, 
And  the  reaping  of  wheat  for  the  reaping  of  foes. 

From  far  Michiscom's  wild  valley,  to  where 
Poosoonsuck  steals  down  from  his  wood-circled  lair, 
From  Shocticook  River  to  Lutterlock  town  — 
Ho  —  all  to  the  rescue  !     Vermonters,  come  down ! 


70        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

Come  York  or  come  Hampshire,  come  traitors  or  knaves, 
If  ye  rule  o'er  our  land,  ye  shall  rule  o'er  our  graves; 
Our  vow  is  recorded  —  our  banner  unfurled, 
In  the  name  of  Vermont  we  defy  all  the  world ! 

While  Whittier  was  at  the  academy,  his  friend 
Garrison  was  in  Boston,  editing  the  "  Philanthro- 
pist," a  weekly  paper  devoted  mainly  to  the  cause 
of  temperance,  and  published  by  William  and 
William  R.  Collier.  It  was  the  first  temperance 
paper  ever  published.  The  young  agitator  did  not 
find  in  this  occupation  so  wide  a  field  of  usefulness 
as  he  wished  ;  there  were  other  reforms  he  desired 
to  advocate  that  his  publishers  did  not  favor.  He 
thought  of  his  Haverhill  friend,  and  procured  for 
him  the  offer  of  the  editorship  of  the  "  Philan- 
thropist." This  offer  came  to  Whittier  while  he 
was  anxiously  considering  the  question  of  a  pro- 
fession. In  the  following  letter  he  asked  the  ad- 
vice of  a  friend  he  had  learned  to  trust :  — 

SHAD  PARISH,  28th  of  llth  mo.,  1828. 

FRIEND  A.  W.  THAYER,  —  I  have  been  in  a  quan- 
dary ever  since  I  left  thee,  whether  I  had  better 
accept  the  offer  of  Friend  Collier,  or  nail  myself 
down  to  my  seat,  —  for,  verily,  I  could  not  be  kept 
there  otherwise,  —  and  toil  for  the  honorable  and 
truly  gratifying  distinction  of  being  considered  "  a 
good  cobbler."  .  .  .  No  —  no  —  friend,  it  won't 
do.  Thee  might  as  well  catch  a  weasel  asleep,  or 
the  Old  Enemy  of  Mankind  in  a  parsonage-house, 
as  find  me  contented  with  that  distinction. 

I  have  renounced  college  for  the  good  reason 
that  I  have  no  disposition  to  humble  myself  to 
meanness  for  an  education  —  crowding  myself 


THE  PHILANTHROPIST  71 

through  college  upon  the  charities  of  others,  and 
leaving  it  with  a  debt  or  an  obligation  to  weigh 
down  my  spirit  like  an  incubus,  and  paralyze  every 
exertion.  The  professions  are  already  crowded  full 
to  overflowing ;  and  I,  forsooth,  because  I  have  a 
miserable  knack  of  rhyming,  must  swell  the  already 
.enormous  number,  struggle  awhile  with  debt  and 
difficulties,  and  then,  weary  of  life,  go  down  to  my 
original  insignificance,  where  the  tinsel  of  classical 
honors  will  but  aggravate  my  misfortune.  Verily, 
friend  Thayer,  the  picture  is  a  dark  one  —  but  from 
my  heart  I  believe  it  to  be  true.  What,  then, 
remains  for  me  ?  School-keeping  —  out  upon  it ! 
The  memory  of  last  year's  experience  comes  up 
before  me  like  a  horrible  dream.  No,  I  had  rather 
be  a  tin-peddler,  and  drive  around  the  country  with 
a  bunch  of  sheepskins  hanging  to  my  wagon.  I 
had  rather  hawk  essences  from  dwelling  to  dwell- 
ing, or  practice  physic  between  Colly  Hill1  and 
Country  Bridge  [the  most  sparsely  settled  portion 
of  the  East  Parish]. 

Seriously  —  the  situation  of  editor  of  the  "  Phi- 
lanthropist "  is  not  only  respectable,  but  it  is  pecul- 
iarly pleasant  to  one  who  takes  so  deep  an  interest, 
as  I  really  do,  in  the  great  cause  it  is  laboring  to 
promote.  I  would  enter  upon  my  task  with  a  heart 
free  from  misanthropy,  and  glowing  with  tha,t  feeling 
that  wishes  well  to  all.  I  would  rather  have  the 
memory  of  a  Howard,  a  Wilberforce,  and  a  Clark- 
son  than  the  undying  fame  of  Byron. 

I  may  be  wrong,  but  I  confess  I  cannot  see  the 

1  "  Corliss  Hill "  was  usually  called  "  Colly  Hill "  by  those  liv- 
ing in  the  neighborhood. 


72        SCHOOLDAYS  AND  EARLY  VERSES 

why  and  wherefore.  I  have  written  to  friend  Col- 
lier, but  have  entered  into  no  engagement.  Will 
you  be  kind  enough  to  send  by  Chase  the  "  Philan- 
thropist "  of  to-day  ?  I  prepared  the  piece  on  card- 
playing  for  the  "  Gazette,"  but  I  own  I  was  afraid 
of  having  my  wig  pulled,  and  so  sent  it  to  Boston.1 
I  should  like  to  see  or  hear  from  Mr.  Carlton  [the 
principal  of  the  academy]  before  I  do  anything. 
He  is  one  of  the  best  men  —  to  use  a  phrase  of  my 
craft  —  "  that  ever  trod  shoe  leather." 

If  I  had  not  written  something  about  him,  I 
would  wish  you  to  let  Mr.  Carlton  see  this.  He 
will  see  my  reasons  —  some  of  them,  I  mean  —  for 
they  are  "  plenty  as  blackberries." 

A  poem  entitled  "  To  the  Merrimack,"  written 
by  Whittier,  was  published  in  the  "  Philanthropist  " 
of  June  6,  1828.  A  few  lines  of  introduction  by 
Garrison  commend  these  verses,  and  call  for  origi- 
nal poems  from  other  sources,  with  the  proviso, 
"  This  invitation  is  meant  for  poets  only." 

Thus  ended  his  schooldays,  but  this  was  only 
the  beginning  of  his  student  life.  By  wide  and 
well-chosen  reading,  he  was  constantly  adding  to 
his  stores  of  information.  While  reveling  in  the 
fields  of  English  literature,  he  became  familiar 
through  translations  with  ancient  and  current  lit- 
erature of  other  nations,  and  kept  abreast  of  all 
political  and  reformatory  movements. 

1  A  short  prose  sketch,  entitled  "The  Gamester,"  which  was 
published  in  tjhje  Philanthropist,  November  28,  1828,  is  here  re- 
ferred to. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE  AND  LITERARY  VENTURES. 

1828-1832. 

MR.  WHITTIER  decided  to  enter  the  printing-office 
of  the  Colliers,  and  in  December,  1828,  we  find 
him  in  Boston,  a  member  of  the  household  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Collier,  a  Baptist  clergyman,  the  senior  part- 
ner of  the  publishing  firm.  The  Colliers,  father 
and  son,  published  two  weekly  papers  and  a 
monthly  magazine.  One  of  the  weeklies  was  the 
"  American  Manufacturer,"  a  political  journal, 
friendly  to  Henry  Clay.  The  monthly  was  the 
"  Baptist  Preacher."  The  partisan  politics  of  the 
"  Manufacturer "  suited  Mr.  Whittier  as  well  as 
did  the  cause  represented  by  the  "Philanthropist," 
and  it  was  the  Henry  Clay  paper  that  bore  his 
name  at  the  head  of  its  editorial  columns,  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1829.  The  new  editor  began  a 
spirited  discussion  of  the  tariff  question,  favoring 
duties  to  protect  American  industries,  and  also 
wrote  sketches  and  poems  for  each  number  of  his 
paper.  It  was  a  temperance  poem  with  which  he 
led  off,  entitled  "  Take  Back  the  Bowl."  This  is 
the  first  stanza :  — 

"Take  back  the  bowl!     I  wUl  not  seal 
The  hallowed  memories  of  the  past ; 
They  add  no  pangs  to  those  I  feel, 
Nor  shadows  on  the  future  cast. 


74  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

Aye,  take  it  back !  let  others  bring 

Oblivion  o'er  the  haunted  soul ; 
My  memory  is  a  blessed  thing  — 

Away  !  away  !  take  back  the  bowl." 

Nearly  every  number  of  the  "Manufacturer" 
contained  a  poem  by  its  editor,  but  scarcely  any 
of  them  were  considered  by  him  worth  preserving, 
even  when  he  made  his  first  collection  of  poems ; 
and  yet  they  were  widely  copied  and  gave  him  a 
constantly  increasing  reputation  as  a  poet.  In 
April,  1829,  he  began  a  series  of  satirical  political 
poems,  under  the  title  of  "  Tariffiana."  It  was 
soon  after  this  he  wrote  the  poetical  tribute  to 
Henry  Clay,  which  was  recited  by  the  partisans 
of  that  statesman  throughout  the  country  in  each 
campaign  when  the  gallant  "  Harry  of  the  West " 
was  a  candidate.1  About  ten  years  ago,  the  editor 
of  a  literary  journal  asked  permission  to  republish 
this  poem  as  a  literary  curiosity.  Mr.  Whittier's 
reply  was :  "  I  have  looked  over  the  Henry  Clay 
ballad,  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
least  said  about  it  the  better.  ...  It  strikes  me 
as  grandiloquent  and  highfalutin."  He  was  not 
ashamed  in  his  later  years  of  his  youthful  enthusi- 
asm for  Clay,  but  thought  that  he  was  in  his  day 

1  This  poem  was  written  for  the  Cincinnati  American,  and  the 
date  of  its  composition  was  4th  mo.  17,  1830,  while  he  was  at 
his  home  in  Haverhill.  In  a  note  to  the  editor  he  says :  "  The 
perusal  of  an  article  from  your  paper  has  prompted  the  following 
feeble  tribute  to  the  services  and  merits  of  the  Western  states- 
man." It  was  copied  into  nearly  all  the  papers  of  the  party  in 
the  Union.  The  enemies  of  Clay  had  made  vigorous  assertion 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  "  bargain  and  corruption "  in  taking 
a  place  in  the  cabinet  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  whose  election  he  had  se- 
cured by  his  influence  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 


THE  AMERICAN  MANUFACTURER        75 

much  overrated.  His  influence  was  not  so  perma- 
nent as  that  of  Calhoun,  whom  he  considered  the 
most  powerful  intellect  of  his  period. 

While  Whittier  was  editing  the  "Manufac- 
turer," the  question  of  the  tariff  was  complicated 
with  that  of  the  personal  fitness  of  General  Jackson 
for  the  Presidency.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
young  Quaker  non-resistant  should  fall  in  with  the 
general  feeling  of  his  State,  at  that  time,  that  it 
was  unsafe  to  intrust  to  a  warrior  the  destinies  of 
a  country  that  more  than  anything  else  needed 
years  of  peace  for  its  growth  and  development. 
The  mills  of  Massachusetts,  from  which  much  — 
and  as  it  has  proved  not  too  much  —  was  expected, 
were  just  beginning  to  be  anxious  for  the  success 
of  the  policy  of  the  brilliant  Kentuckian.  Pre- 
vious to  1828,  all  New  England  opposed  the  plan 
of  developing  American  industries,  to  which  Clay 
had  converted  the  West  and  a  part  of  the  South. 
Webster  opposed  it  for  a  while  with  all  his  massive 
strength,  fearing  it  might  put  restraint  upon  the 
commerce  of  New  England.  Of  the  great  men  of 
that  period,  Clay  alone  had  favored  this  policy 
from  first  to  last,  so  that  his  name  was  thoroughly 
identified  with  it.  When  Clay  was  a  candidate 
for  the  Presidency  against  Jackson,  in  1832,  Mas- 
sachusetts was  one  of  the  few  States  that  supported 
him,  and  by  his  earnest  advocacy  Whittier  won 
political  popularity,  which  was  then  as  pleasing  to 
him  as  literary  reputation. 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  A.  W.  Thayer,  Mr.  Whittier 
says  under  date  2d  mo.  6,  1829:  "The  'Manu- 
facturer '  goes  down  well,  thanks  to  the  gullibility 


76  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

of  the  public,  and  we  are  doing  well,  very  well. 
Have  had  one  or  two  rubs  from  other  papers,  but 
I  have  had  some  compliments  which  were  quite  as 
much  as  my  vanity  could  swallow.  Have  tolerable 
good  society,  Mrs.  Hale  and  her  literary  club,  etc. 
I  am  coming  out  for  the  tariff  by  and  by  —  have 
done  something  at  it  already  —  but  the  astonisher 
is  yet  to  come!  Shall  blow  Cambreling  and 
McDuffie  sky-high." 

When  Garrison  gave  up  his  paper  at  Benning- 
ton,  Vt.,  and  went  to  Baltimore  in  company  with 
Benjamin  Lundy,  Whittier  said  of  him :  "  A  bolder 
pen  never  portrayed  the  evils  of  slavery,  and  a 
better  or  kinder  heart  never  throbbed  with  sym- 
pathy for  the  sufferings  of  humanity."  At  another 
tune  he  wrote  to  Garrison :  "  I  admire  your  plan 
of  directing  your  efforts  against  those  fearful  evils, 
slavery,  intemperance,  and  war.  Heart  and  hand 
I  unite  with  you  in  denouncing  them.  It  shall  be 
my  endeavor  to  merit  that  name  which  I  consider 
of  all  others  the  most  worthy  of  our  ambition,  — 
the  friend  of  man." 

The  following  anecdote,  as  told  by  Mr.  Whittier, 
illustrates  this  part  of  his  career :  Kev.  Mr.  Collier 
used  to  travel  through  the  State  canvassing  for 
subscribers  to  his  "  Baptist  Preacher,"  leaving  his 
son  William  in  charge  of  the  office.  Each  number 
of  the  magazine  contained  a  sermon  by  some  emi- 
nent Baptist  divine.  On  one  occasion,  when  the 
old  clergyman  was  away,  no  sermon  was  left  for 
copy,  and  the  day  of  publication  of  the  "  Preacher  " 
was  perilously  near.  William  proposed  to  young 
Whittier  to  write  a  sermon  in  place  of  the  one  that 


WRITING  A   SERMON  77 

had  failed  to  arrive.  At  this  period  of  his  life, 
Mr.  Whittier  said  he  felt  more  confident  than  he 
ever  had  since  that  he  could  do  anything,  from 
the  writing  of  a  sermon  to  the  conducting  of  a 
political  campaign.  So  the  young  Quaker  readily 
undertook  to  fill  the  columns  set  apart  for  the 
great  divines  of  that  day,  young  Collier  promis- 
ing to  lend  his  valuable  assistance.  The  sermon 
was  actually  written  and  partly  in  type  when  the 
old  gentleman  returned,  and  a  discourse  under 
which  a  congregation  had  actually  slept  took  the 
place  of  Mr.  Whittier's  effort.  It  is  easy  to  be- 
lieve that  this  first  and  only  sermon  of  the  young 
poet  was  more  than  worthy  of  the  space  it  came  so 
near  occupying,  for  it  was  a  serious  essay,  and  no 
burlesque. 

It  was  during  his  employment  in  this  office  that 
he  first  met  Charles  Sumner.  An  anti-Masonic 
journal,  in  which  Sheriff  Sumner  was  interested, 
was  for  a  time  printed  in  the  office  of  the  "  Manu- 
facturer." One  day  the  sheriff's  son,  Charles, 
came  in  with  the  copy.  He  was  then  a  student  at 
Harvard,  seventeen  years  of  age,  a  tall,  slender, 
graceful  youth.  Whether  the  copy  he  brought 
was  written  by  himself,  or  sent  by  his  father, 
Mr.  Whittier  did  not  recall,  but  he  had  a  vivid 
remembrance  of  the  young  man  who  in  twenty 
years  was  to  become  one  of  his  most  intimate 
friends. 

He  remained  in  this  Boston  printing-office  until 
August,  1829,  when  he  was  called  home  by  the 
failing  health  of  his  father,  and  the  necessity  of 
caring  for  the  farm.  Of  his  meagre  salary  of 


78  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

nine  dollars  a  week  he  saved  about  one  half,  and 
this  went  toward  freeing  the  farm  from  the  incum- 
brance  of  the  mortgage.  His  residence  in  Boston 
had  given  him  access  to  large  libraries,  an  oppor- 
tunity he  improved  to  the  utmost.  He  wrote 
several  poems  during  these  few  months  that  were 
widely  copied.  "The  Sicilian  Vespers,"  "The 
Earthquake,"  and  "The  Spirit  of  the  North" 
belong  to  this  period. 

Soon  after  he  gave  up  the  editorship  of  the 
"  Manufacturer,"  he  wrote  from  Haverhill  to  a 
friend  in  New  York,  who  had  been  a  fellow-boarder 
at  the  Colliers',  and  who  had  expressed  surprise  at 
his  giving  up  the  paper :  "  Why  should  you  be 
surprised  ?  You  know  what  kind  of  a  concern  it 
was  ;  you  know,  if  I  mistake  not,  my  dissatisfac- 
tion." From  this  it  would  appear  that  he  had 
other  reasons  beside  the  illness  of  his  father  for 
resigning  his  first  editorship.1  We  find  hints  in 

1  In  the  same  letter,  he  makes  this  reference  to  his  former 
room-mate,  Garrison:  "Have  you  seen  Garrison's  Baltimore 
paper,  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  ?  I  had  a  letter 
from  him  the  other  day ;  he  says  he  has  been  in  low  spirits  ever 
since  he  left  Boston  ;  says  he  is  home-sick,  and  what  is  worse, 
love-sick,  which  last  sickness  he  justly  supposes  will  be  immortal. 
...  I  have  become  a  notable  fellow  in  gallantry  of  late ;  I 
mean  old-fashioned  gallantry,  however.  I  have  given  my  whis- 
kers a  more  ferocious  appearance,  and  take  the  liberty  of  fright- 
ening into  good  nature  those  who  will  not  be  complaisant  of  their 
own  accord."  His  correspondent,  more  than  thirty  years  after, 
sent  him  this  old  letter,  and  received  the  following  comment 
upon  it,  dated  Amesbury,  1st  mo.  2,  1860  :  "I  was  about  as 
much  surprised  to  read  that  old  letter  of  my  boyhood  as  if  I  had 
seen  the  ghost  of  my  former  self.  It  was  a  very  absurd  and 
ridiculous  epistle,  —  and  the  utter  folly  of  it  is  more  striking 
from  the  fact  that  at  that  very  time  I  was  in  reality  a  shy,  timid 


FRIENDSHIP    WITH  PRENTICE  79 

other  letters  of  this  period  that  he  had  to  contend 
with  jealousy  and  detraction  in  the  office  of  his 
employers. 

Whittier  remained  in  Haverhill  until  his  father's 
death,  in  June,  1830,  spending  all  his  spare  hours 
in  study,  and  in  preparing  contributions  in  prose 
and  verse  for  various  periodicals.  For  the  first  six 
months  of  1830  he  edited  the  Haverhill  "  Gazette," 
doing  most  of  his  work  upon  this  paper  at  home, 
three  miles  away  from  the  office  of  publication. 
He  also  contributed  poems  and  political  essays  to 
the  "  New  England  Review,"  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
a  political  paper  then  edited  by  George  D.  Pren- 
tice. Mr.  Whittier's  ambition  at  this  time  had 
taken  a  political  turn,  and  his  studies  were  in  that 
direction.  Mr.  Prentice  was  much  pleased  with 
the  contributions  he  received  from  the  young 
Quaker  on  the  Haverhill  farm,  and  a  friendly 
correspondence  sprang  up  between  them.  The 
only  letter  that  is  preserved  of  this  correspondence 
is  one  from  Prentice,  written  January  2,  1830. 
He  was  at  a  hotel  in  Providence,  enjoying  a  short 
respite  from  his  editorial  work.  The  letter,  which 
is  a  long  one,  is  frolicsome  in  its  tone,  and  gives 
the  impression  that  he  and  his  correspondent  were 
intimate  friends.  And  yet  they  had  never  met. 
If  Prentice  had  been  better  acquainted  with  the 
Quaker  lad  he  was  addressing,  he  would  hardly 
have  written  the  first  paragraph  here  quoted :  — 

recluse,  afraid  of  a  shadow,  especially  the  shadow  of  a  woman. 
There  is  a  period  in  life  —  a  sort  of  tadpole  state,  between  the 
boy  and  the  man  —  when  any  sort  of  pretense,  egotism,  and  self- 
conceit  may  be  expected." 


80  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

"  Whittier,  I  wish  you  were  seated  by  my  side, 
for  I  assure  you  that  my  situation,  just  now,  is 
very  much  to  my  particular  satisfaction.  Here  am 
I  in  my  hotel,  with  a  good-natured  fire  in  front  of 
me,  and  a  bottle  of  champagne  at  my  left  hand. 
Can  you  imagine  a  situation  more  to  a  good  fel- 
low's mind?  .  .  .  Then  you  have  more  imagina- 
tion than  judgment.  .  .  .  The  gods  be  praised 
that  I  am  not  a  member  of  the  temperance  society ! 

"  Would  to  fortune  I  could  come  to  Haverhill, 
before  my  return  to  Hartford  —  but  the  thing  is 
impossible.  I  am  running  short  both  of  time  and 
money.  Well,  we  can  live  on  and  love,  as  we  have 
done.  Once  or  twice  I  have  even  thought  that 
my  feelings  towards  you  had  more  of  romance  in 
them  than  they  possibly  could  have  if  we  were  ac- 
quainted with  each  other.  I  never  yet  met  for  the 
first  time  with  a  person  whose  name  I  had  learned 
to  revere,  without  feeling  on  the  instant  that  the 
beautiful  veil  with  which  my  imagination  had 
robed  him  was  partially  rent  away.  If  you  can- 
not explain  this  matter,  you  are  no  philosopher." 

It  would  be  easy  to  quote  a  great  many  compli- 
mentary newspaper  comments  on  Whittier's  poetry 
appearing  from  week  to  week,  as  when  the  "  New 
England  Eeview"  copied  some  lines  from  "The 
Minstrel  Girl,"  a  poem  not  thought  worthy  of 
being  published  in  any,  not  even  in  the  first,  of 
Whittier's  collections  of  verse,  with  the  sweeping 
statement,  "  We  do  not  know  that  we  have  ever 
seen  the  following  description  of  sunset  equaled." 
The  wonder  is  that  such  a  reputation  as  he  was 
certainly  acquiring  should  have  grown  out  of  a 


INCREASING  LITERARY  FAME          81 

series  of  poems  that  so  soon  sank  into  oblivion. 
For  about  five  years,  say  from  1827  to  1832,  Whit- 
tier  was  writing  and  publishing  a  poem  almost 
every  week,  scarcely  twenty  of  which  are  now  ex- 
tant. They  are  to  be  found  only  in  the  files  of  the 
several  papers  in  which  they  first  appeared,  or  into 
which  they  were  copied.  The  literary  fame  so 
freely  promised  for  him  has  indeed  crowned  his 
work,  but  it  is  not  based  on  anything  then  ac- 
complished. 

As  the  elder  Whittier's  failing  health  had  called 
the  young  editor  away  from  his  office,  so  now  the 
death  of  his  father  left  him  free  to  resume  his 
occupation,  and  the  acquaintance  which  he  had 
formed  with  Prentice  led  to  a  new  opening.  Pren- 
tice had  been  asked  by  Henry  Clay  to  come  to 
Lexington,  Ky.,  and  write  his  biography,  in  antici- 
pation of  a  nomination  for  the  Presidency  in  1832. 
The  "New  England  Review,"  which  Prentice 
edited,  was  owned  by  leading  politicians  of  Connect- 
icut, of  the  party  favorable  to  Clay.  When  they 
learned  they  were  to  lose  Prentice  for  a  time,  they 
asked  him  to  recommend  some  one  to  fill  his  place. 
His  advice  to  send  for  Whittier  was  acted  upon. 
This  call  to  edit  the  leading  party  paper  of  a  State, 
with  the  local  politics  of  which  he  had  no  acquaint- 
ance, was  a  great  surprise  to  the  young  poet; 
but  it  was  in  the  line  of  his  principal  ambition, 
and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  position. 
While  connected  with  the  "Manufacturer,"  he 
had  come  into  personal  communication  with  the 
principal  men  of  his  party  in  Massachusetts,  and 
had  been  making  a  study  of  political  economy,  in 


82  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

the  expectation  of  taking  up  political  journalism  as 
his  life  work.  He  had  never  received  pay  for  his 
verses,  and  had  not  thought  of  depending  upon 
poetry  for  his  bread.  The  salary  offered  him  as 
editor  of  the  "  Review "  was  about  $500  a  year. 
Small  as  it  was,  he  now  saw  a  prospect,  by  the 
practice  of  strict  economy,  of  wiping  out  the  debt 
that  had  incumbered  the  Haverhill  farm.  This 
part  of  his  ambition  was  soon  gratified. 

If  he  was  surprised  by  the  offer  of  this  editor- 
ship, he  was  accustomed  to  say  he  thought  the  Con- 
necticut statesmen,  who  came  into  the  office  of  the 
"  He  view  "  to  see  the  new  editor,  were  equally  sur- 
prised to  find  at  the  desk  that  had  been  occu- 
pied by  the  genteel  and  spirited  Prentice  a  shy 
lad,  in  homespun  clothes  of  Quaker  cut,  straight 
from  a  Massachusetts  farm.  He  must  at  first 
glance  have  appeared  out  of  place  in  the  editorial 
chair  of  their  State  paper,  in  the  midst  of  a  fierce 
political  campaign,  and  as  the  successor  of  one  of 
the  most  trenchant  and  dashing  editors  America 
had  produced.  Among  his  intimates,  Whittier  was 
always  a  ready  and  sprightly  talker,  but  among 
strangers  he  held  his  peace.  His  bright  eyes,  and 
the  quick  intelligence  of  his  handsome  face,  must 
have  speedily  reassured  those  interested  in  the  paper 
he  was  to  edit.  They  saw  that  his  homely  Quaker 
clothes  covered  a  youth  of  good  parts,  honest,  ear- 
nest, intelligent,  and  ambitious.  By  listening  to 
the  talk  of  the  party  leaders  who  made  his  office 
their  rendezvous,  he  soon  mastered  the  shibboleth 
of  local  politics,  and  gave  good  satisfaction. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  two  men  more  entirely 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  REVIEW          83 

unlike  than  were  Prentice  and  Whittier.  Pren- 
tice delighted  in  giving  pain  with  his  caustic  pen, 
and  he  used  his  great  power  of  satire  with  reckless 
disregard  of  the  feelings  of  his  opponents.  Whittier 
was  a  man  of  the  sweetest  nature,  kind  and  courte- 
ous,  but  of  the  truest  courage.  He  was  content  to 
disarm  an  antagonist  without  drawing  a  drop  of  his 
blood.  They  had  each  achieved  some  distinction  as 
writers  of  both  prose  and  verse.  Prentice  was 
five  years  the  senior,  and  is  now  best  remembered 
as  the  witty  and  slashing  editor  of  the  Louisville, 
Ky.,  "  Journal."  He  did  not  come  back  to  Con- 
necticut as  he  had  expected.  In  his  editorial  of 
farewell  Prentice  said  of  his  successor  :  — 

"  I  cannot  do  less  than  congratulate  my  readers 
on  the  prospect  of  their  more  familiar  acquaintance 
with  a  gentleman  of  such  powerful  energies,  and 
such  exalted  purity  and  sweetness  of  character.  I 
have  made  some  enemies  among  those  whose  good 
opinion  I  value,  but  no  rational  man  can  ever  be 
the  enemy  of  Mr.  Whittier." 

An  intimate  friend  of  the  poet  contributes  to 
this  memoir  the  following  report  of  a  conversation 
she  once  had  with  Mr.  Whittier  about  his  accept- 
ance of  the  editorship  of  the  Hartford  paper :  — 

George  D.  Prentice,  he  said,  had  been  writing 
letters  to  his  own  paper,  purporting  to  come  from 
the  "  Man  in  the  Moon."  After  a  while  they 
were  discontinued  for  several  weeks,  and  then  one 
appeared  which  Whittier  thought  was  from  a  dif- 
ferent hand  ;  so  he  tried  one  himself  and  sent  it 
on,  hardly  expecting  ever  to  hear  from  it  again ; 


84  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

but  in  course  of  time  back  it  came  to  him  in  print, 
with  a  letter  from  Prentice  saying  he  would  like 
to  hear  from  him  again.  It  was  upon  this  letter 
that  he  first  saw  himself  called  "Mr."  After  a 
while  there  came  another  letter  —  he  did  not  have 
many  letters  then  —  saying  Mr.  Prentice  was  to 
be  gone  six  months  and  would  like  to  have  him 
take  charge  of  the  paper  during  his  absence.  He 
told  his  mother,  but  no  one  else,  thinking  they 
would  laugh  at  him.  His  father  had  recently 
died,  and  he  felt  he  was  needed  at  home.  He  lay 
awake  all  night,  and  finally  concluded  he  would 
go.  Being  asked  how  he  could  know  in  the  least 
what  to  do,  he  said  he  did  not  —  he  knew  nothing 
about  it  —  but  took  care  to  conceal  his  ignorance. 
When  he  was  going  to  write  on  any  subject  he 
read  up  on  it.  After  he  had  been  in  Hartford  a 
few  weeks,  he  opened  one  of  the  exchanges,  —  the 
"Cat skill  Recorder,"  he  believed, — and  there 
was  a  long  article  headed  "John  Gr.  Whittier," 
filled  with  abuse  and  ridicule  of  him  and  his  editor- 
ship. It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  him.  He  hid  the 
paper  so  that  his  publishers  and  the  people  about 
the  office  should  not  see  it,  and  every  once  in  a  while 
he  would  take  it  out  and  read  it  over.  He  went 
home  to  his  boarding-house,  and  some  of  the  young 
ladies,  seeing  marks  of  trouble  in  his  face,  asked 
him  what  was  the  matter ;  but  he  did  not  tell  them. 
Every  paper  he  opened,  he  expected  to  see  this  cop- 
ied at  full  length.  He  did  not  dare  say  much  about 
it  in  his  paper,  because  he  did  not  want  his  readers 
to  know  what  had  been  said  of  him.  Finally,  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  Catskill  man,  remonstrating 


THE    NEW  ENGLAND  REVIEW          85 

with  him  ;  to  which  an  answer  came  worse  than  the 
original  offense,  saying  that  if  he  was  so  thin- 
skinned  as  that  he  would  better  quit  the  news- 
paper business,  for  it  was  not  a  circumstance  to 
what  would  happen  as  time  went  on;  A  few  days 
afterward,  the  New  York  "  Courier  and  Enquirer," 
then  edited  by  the  Noahs,  he  thought,  and  Mr. 
James  Brooks,  came  to  the  office  with  a  flattering 
notice,  and  marked  "  Please  exchange ;  "  this  com- 
forted him.  He  thought  if  a  great  paper  like  this 
praised  him,  it  was  not  so  much  matter  about  the 
little  Catskiller.  Bryant's  paper,  the  "  Evening 
Post,"  followed  suit,  and  some  editors  asked  him 
to  call  on  them  if  he  ever  came  to  New  York. 
Prentice  did  not  return,  and  he  stayed  in  Hart- 
ford eighteen  months.  There  was  much  dissipation 
there.  He  had  been  in  town  but  a  little  while 
before  they  made  him  a  member  of  a  club  com- 
posed of  the  young  men  of  the  first  families,  who 
did  little  but  drink  and  carouse.  He  only  went 
one  night ;  did  not  care  about  such  things.  He 
would  not  drink  with  them.  During  his  residence 
in  Hartford,  he  once  visited  New  York,  and,  as 
requested,  called  upon  the  editors  of  the  "  Courier 
and  Enquirer."  Major  Noah  was  in,  a  large, 
portly  Jew.  "Is  this  Mr.  Whittier  ?  "  "Yes." 
«  Of  the  Hartford  '  Review '  ?  "  "  Yes."  "  Ah ! 
yes,  yes,  a  younger  man  than  I  supposed."  Mr. 
Brooks  was  ill,  so  he  called  at  his  house  and  was 
very  courteously  entreated,  and  went  to  the  club 
in  the  evening  —  where  he  saw  oysters  for  the  first 
time.  Did  he  enjoy  it  ?  No,  not  very  much ;  he  was 
rather  shy  and  knew  scarcely  any  one.  While  go- 


86  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

ing  by  a  theatre  one  night,  he  saw  a  man,  too  drunk 
to  stand  alone,  holding  on  by  the  railings  of  the 
steps.  As  he  turned  to  look  at  him,  the  man  said, 
"  Don't  thee  come  in  here,  Quaker,  this  is  no  place 
for  thee.  I  will  report  thee  to  Friend  Jenkins,  and 
he  will  turn  thee  out  of  the  Monthly  Meeting." 

If  he  had  been  disposed  to  attend  places  of  vain 
amusement,  his  Quaker  dress,  he  found,  would  have 
been  a  constant  protection.  He  entered  heartily 
into  social  life  in  Hartford,  and  left  a  pleasant 
memory  in  many  families.  In  a  reminiscent  letter 
that  is  published  in  the  "  History  of  Hartford 
County,"  he  says  :  — 

"  I  boarded  first  at  the  old  Lunt  tavern,  and 
afterward  at  Jonathan  Law's,  formerly  postmaster 
of  Hartford.  I  knew  well  some  of  the  best  people 
in  the  little  city,  Judge  Euss,  Hon.  Mr.  Trumbull, 
Hon.  Martin  Welles,  Dr.  Todd,  Mrs.  Sigourney ; 
Isaac  E.  Crary  —  afterward  General  Crary,  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  Michigan  —  and  Charles 
Emerson,  then  young  lawyers  there,  wrote  for  my 
paper,  as  did  also  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  now  presi- 
dent of  Columbia  College,  New  York." 

The  intimacy  with  Barnard,  who  was  at  that 
time  a  teacher  in  the  asylum  for  the  deaf  and 
dumb,  sprang  from  the  fact  that  both  of  them 
were  especially  interested  in  Eastern  history  and 
romance.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  "  Miriam," 
an  Eastern  poem,  was  dedicated  to  him  ;  its  open- 
ing lines  refer  to  the  old  days  at  Hartford :  — 

"  The  years  are  many  since,  in  youth  and  hope, 
Under  the  Charter  Oak,  our  horoscope 
We  drew  thick-studded  with  all  favoring  stars." 


HARTFORD  FRIENDS  87 

Mrs.  Sigourney  was  in  the  height  of  her  popu- 
larity as  a  writer,  when  Whittier  was  in  Hartford, 
and  of  her  he  says  in  a  letter  written  long  after 
her  death :  "  I  knew  Mrs.  Sigourney  well,  when 
as  a  boy  I  came  to  Hartford.  Her  kindness  to 
the  young  rustic  stranger  I  shall  never  forget." 
Late  in  life  he  wrote  these  lines  for  the  tablet 
placed  near  her  pew  in  Christ  Church :  — 

"  She  sang  alone,  ere  womanhood  had  known 

The  gift  of  song  which  fills  the  air  to-day : 
Tender  and  sweet,  a  music  all  her  own 
May  fitly  linger  where  she  knelt  to  pray." 

The  first  two  or  three  weeks  of  the  month  of 
January,  1831,  were  spent  by  Mr.  Whittier  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  He  was  at  this  time  editing 
the  "  Review,"  but  there  is  not  a  word  in  his 
paper  referring  to  this  visit,  and  only  an  indirect 
reference  after  his  return  to  his  editorial  desk  to 
the  fact  that  he  had  been  absent.  All  that  we  know 
of  this  episode  is  found  in  his  correspondence  with 
his  friend,  Jonathan  Law,1  of  Hartford,  in  whose 
family  he  resided  for  some  months  while  editing 
the  "  Review."  It  was  a  two  days'  journey  from 
Hartford  to  New  York,  by  stage  to  New  Haven, 
and  by  steamboat  thence  to  New  York.  The  steam- 
boat was  caught  in  the  severest  storm  known  for 
many  years,  and  the  first  letter  to  Mr.  Law,  written 
in  mid-passage,  gives  a  graphic  description  of  the 
miseries  of  the  voyage,  enlivened  with  humorous 

1  Mr.  Law  was  an  educated  and  scholarly  man,  familiar  with 
the  poets,  and  Mr.  Whittier  had  occasion  to  acknowledge  great 
indebtedness  to  him  for  his  aid.  He  had  a  large  house  and  a 
good  library.  He  was  postmaster  at  Hartford  from  1800  to  1829. 


88  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

comment  upon  many  distressing  situations.  The 
letter  closes  with  the  enigmatical  remark,  "  To- 
morrow I  shall  be  busy ;  whether  for  good  or  ill,  I 
know  not.  All  that  men  in  our  situation  can  do 
shall  be  done."  He  was  accompanied  and  assisted 
by  a  young  lawyer,  Mr.  Isaac  E.  Crary.1  They  ar- 
rived Saturday,  January  1,  and  on  the  next  day 
he  wrote :  — 

"I  have  reached  New  York  at  last,  and  am 
already  surrounded  with  papers  and  musty  docu- 
ments. I  find  not  so  much  difficulty  as  I  antici- 
pated. The  Ghent  treaty  is  safe.  It  was  not 
among  the  missing.  My  first  letter  was  dated  on 
board  the  steamboat  —  that  floating  pandemo- 
nium—  that  pestilential  hospital  ship.  I  shud- 
der even  now  at  the  bare  thought  of  it.  We 
spent  Friday  night  on  the  boat,  a  few  miles  be- 
low the  city.  It  was  almost  a  sleepless  one.  We 
are  now  sitting  in  our  room,  Crary  and  myself; 
there  is  a  noble  fire  in  the  grate,  and  we  are  work- 
ing away  for  dear  life.  WTe  are,  in  fact,  perfect 
hermits,  and  we  abide  by  our  room  as  Diogenes 
did  in  his  tub.  .  .  .  We  have  no  news  to  relate, 
none  in  the  world ;  and  yet,  as  I  promised  to  write, 
I  fulfill  my  engagement.  I  have  seen  no  one  as 
yet.  The  editor  of  the  '  Mercantile  Advertiser  ' 
has  just  called  on  me,  in  the  name  of  Forrest,  the 
tragedian,  of  Halleck,  Wetmore,  and  Leggett,  of 

1  Crary  went  to  Michigan  soon  after,  and  became  delegate 
from  the  Territory  in  Congress.  He  was  also  member  of  Congress 
from  Michigan  when  it  became  a  State,  and  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  developing  the  plans  by  which  the  grant  of  the  general 
government  for  educational  purposes  became  a  fund  of  great 
and  permanent  value. 


POLITICAL    WORK  89 

New  York,  and  of  Hill,  of  Boston,  to  attend  a 
convivial  meeting  of  the  Literati,  this  evening. 
I  have  declined.  I  have  no  idea  of  soaking  my 
brains  in  champagne  or  Madeira,  when  I  have  so 
much  use  for  them.  At  present  I  must  have  a 
clear  lookout,  or  all  may  go  for  the  '  Old  Harry  ' 
instead  of  our  own  Harry." 

This  last  sentence  and  the  reference  to  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent  indicate  that  the  search  was  for 
some  part  of  the  record  of  Henry  Clay ;  and  that 
the  results  of  the  search  were  not  encouraging  ap- 
pears in  a  reference  to  it,  in  a  passage  not  here 
quoted,  as  an  "  ugly  affair "  he  would  be  glad  to 
have  off  his  hands.  After  a  fortnight's  work  upon 
this  mysterious  business,  he  writes  to  his  Hartford 
friend,  under  date  of  Seventh  day  evening,  1st  mo. 
15th:  — 

"  I  am  yet  in  the  land  of  the  living,  and  would 
give  half  a  kingdom  to  be  in  your  goodly  city  of 
Hartford.  We  have  had  a  wearisome  time  of  it, 
and  the  end  has  not  yet  come.  We  have  been  sick, 
and  given  over  to  the  buffeting  of  the  '  Indigo 
Demons.'  Verily,  we  have  seen  enough  of  vexa- 
tion, enough  of  agony,  spiritual  and  bodily,  to 
make  our  very  hairs  as  white  as  those  of  Methuse- 
lah when  a  thousand  winters  had  gone  over  his 
venerable  head.  We  have  ransacked  every  street ; 
we  have  turned  over  the  huge  folios  of  every 
library;  we  have  read,  inquired,  cogitated,  and 
written  and  rewritten,  until  our  brains  are  in  a 
worse  state  than  Ovid's  chaos." 

The  files  of  the  "  Eeview,"  from  July,  1830,  to 
March,  1831,  show  a  large  amount  of  work  from 


90  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

Whittier's  own  hand,  not  only  in  political  leaders, 
but  in  poems  and  sketches.  There  are  twenty- 
three  poems  signed  with  his  initials,  beside  several 
that  are  probably  his,  not  signed ;  also,  several 
legends  and  short  stories.  In  the  first  number  of 
the  paper  after  he  took  charge  of  it,  July  19, 
1830,  appears  a  poem,  "  To  L.  E.  L.,  Author 
of  the  Improvisatrice,"  which  was  copied  in  other 
periodicals  during  the  lifetime  of  Letitia  E.  Lan- 
don,  but  which  Mr.  Whittier  never  placed  in  any 
collection  of  his  works.  Another  poem,  "  Christ 
in  the  Tempest,"  was  published  August  16,  1830. 
This  became  familiar  to  the  public  in  Emerson's 
"  First  Class  Reader."  Of  this  he  wrote  to  Rev. 
R.  H.Howard,  in  1888:  — 

"  It  was  for  some  reason  omitted  by  my  pub- 
lishers ;  I  think  because  it  was  not  thought  valu- 
able in  a  merely  literary  point  of  view.  I  had  not 
seen  it  for  a  long  time  ;  but  I  have  just  hunted  it 
up,  and  find  it  better  than  many  things  in  my  col- 
lected poems.  The  storm  on  the  little  lake  may 
have  been  exaggerated  ;  but  as  a  whole  the  piece 
is  not  altogether  unworthy,  certainly,  so  far  as  the 
sentiment  is  concerned." 

Here  are  the  first  and  last  stanzas  of  the  poem : 

"  Storm  on  the  midnight  waters.     The  vast  sky 
Is  stooping1  with  the  thunder.     Cloud  on  cloud 
Keels  heavily  in  the  darkness,  like  a  shroud 

Shock  by  some  warning  spirit  from  the  high 

And  terrible  wall  of  heaven.     The  mighty  wave 
Tosses  beneath  its  shadow,  like  the  bold 

Upheavings  of  a  giant  from  the  grave 
Which  bound  him  prematurely  to  its  cold 

And  desolate  bosom.     Lo,  they  mingle  now  — 


CHRIST  IN    THE    TEMPEST  91 

Tempest  and  heaving  wave,  along  whose  brow 
Trembles  the  lightning  from  its  thick  fold. 


"  Dread  Ruler  of  the  tempest !     Thou  before 

Whose  presence  boweth  the  uprisen  storm, 
To  whom  the  waves  do  homage  round  the  shore 

Of  many  an  island  empire  !     If  the  form 
Of  the  frail  dust  beneath  Thine  eye  may  claim 

Thine  infinite  regard,  oh,  breathe  upon 
The  storm  and  darkness  of  man's  soul  the  same 
Quiet  and  peace  and  humbleness  which  came 

O'er  the  roused  waters,  where  Thy  voice  had  gone, 
A  minister  of  peace  —  to  conquer  in  Thy  name." 

The  other  poems  of  this  period  which  appear  in 
his  collected  works  are:  "Isabella  of  Austria," 
"  The  Frost  Spirit,"  "  The  Fair  Quakeress,"  "  The 
Cities  of  the  Plain,"  and  "Bolivar."  This  last- 
named  poem  was  written  one  month  after  the  death 
of  the  South  American  patriot.  In  the  "  Review  " 
for  October  18,  1830,  three  of  his  poems  appear, 
and  the  best  of  the  three,  "  New  England,"  was 
unsigned,  but  to  the  copy  found  among  his  papers 
he  has  appended  his  initials.  This  poem,  with  the 
exception  of  the  last  stanza,  appears  in  "Moll 
Pitcher."  The  self-assertion  in  this  last  stanza 
probably  seemed  to  him  too  strong  at  the  time  of 
its  publication.  But  it  reveals  the  high  spirit  of 
his  youth,  and  now  that  its  speculation  may  be 
looked  upon  as  fulfilled  prophecy,  it  properly  be« 
longs  in  these  pages  :  — 

"  Land  of  my  fathers !  —  if  my  name, 
Now  humble  and  unwed  to  fame, 
Hereafter  burn  upon  the  lip, 

As  one  of  those  which  may  not  die, 
Linked  in  eternal  fellowship 

With  visions  pure  and  strong  and  high  — 


92  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

If  the  wild  dreams,  which  quicken  now 
The  throbbing  pulse  of  heart  and  brow, 
Hereafter  take  a  real  form 
Like  spectres  changed  to  being  warm ; 
And  over  temples  worn  and  gray 

The  star-like  crown  of  glory  shine,  — 
Thine  be  the  bard's  undying  lay, 

The  murmur  of  his  praise  be  thine  !  " 

He  busied  himself  also  at  this  time  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  his  first  book,  "  Legends  of  New  England, 
in  Prose  and  Verse."  No  advertisement  of  this 
book  appeared  in  the  paper  he  was  conducting  until 
the  week  before  it  was  issued.1  It  was  printed  in  the 
office  of  the  "  Keview."  There  are  now  but  few 
copies  of  this  earliest  venture  of  his  in  existence. 
Whenever,  in  later  life,  Mr.  Whittier  obtained  pos- 
session of  a  copy,  he  destroyed  it.  On  one  occasion 
he  paid  five  dollars  for  a  copy,  and  burned  it.  He 
said  he  looked  it  through,  and"  it  seemed  like  some- 
body else." 

When   his   "Legends   of   New   England"   ap- 

1  This  book  was  published  February  23,  1831,  by  Havener  & 
Phelps,  Hartford.  The  first  announcement  of  it  contained  the  name 
of  the  author,  but  the  advertisements  that  appeared  after  it  was 
issued  do  not  mention  the  author's  name.  The  table  of  contents 
was  as  follows :  "  The  Midnight  Attack  ;  The  Weird  Gathering ; 
The  Rattlesnake  Hunter ;  Metacom ;  The  Murdered  Lady ;  The 
Unquiet  Sleeper  :  The  Haunted  House  ;  The  Spectre  Warriors ; 
The  Powow ;  The  Spectre  Ship ;  The  Human  Sacrifice  ;  The  In- 
dian's Tale  ;  A  Night  among  the  Wolves ;  The  White  Mountains ; 
The  Black  Fox:  The  Mother's  Revenge  ;  The  Aerial  Omens  ;  The 
Last  Norridgewock."  Nine  of  these  pieces  are  poems,  and  of 
these  only  two  are  to  be  found  in  his  complete  works,  published 
in  1888,  viz.,  "  Metacom  "  and  "  Mount  Agiochook,"  which  last 
title  has  been  substituted  for  "  The  White  Mountains."  Not  one 
of  the  prose  sketches  has  been  deemed  worthy  of  preservation. 


LEGENDS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND  93 

peared,  he  had  been  five  years  before  the  public 
as  a  writer.  At  this  time  more  than  one  hundred 
poems  of  his  had  been  printed  in  various  periodicals. 
Only  twenty  of  these  are  to  be  found  in  any  extant 
edition  of  his  works.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that 
his  judgment  in  suppressing  them  was  correct.  The 
few  specimens  of  his  early  work  that  he  allowed  to 
appear  in  the  latest  and  fullest  collection  of  his 
poems  are  sufficient  to  show  the  first  steps  of  his 
literary  progress. 

It  may  be  said  that  some  of  the  discarded  early 
poems  are  devoted  to  phases  of  "  the  tender  passion." 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  was  not  pos- 
sessed of  at  least  the  average  susceptibility  of  young 
people,  and  yet  the  verses  to  which  reference  is 
here  made  must  not  be  taken  as  the  measure  of 
that  susceptibility.  His  youthful  letters  to  intimate 
friends  abound  in  passages  like  this  to  Edwin  Har- 
riman,  written  from  Boston,  in  1829,  while  editing 
the  "  Manufacturer :  "  — 

"  Here  I  have  been  all  day  trying  to  write  some- 
thing for  my  paper,  but  what  with  habitual  lazi- 
ness, and  a  lounge  or  two  in  the  Athenaeum 
Gallery,  I  am  altogether  unfitted  for  composition. 
.  .  .  There  are  a  great  many  pretty  girls  at  the 
Athenaeum,  and  I  like  to  sit  there  and  remark 
upon  the  different  figures  that  go  flitting  by  me, 
like  aerial  creatures  just  stooping  down  to  our  dull 
earth,  to  take  a  view  of  the  beautiful  creations  of 
the  painter's  genius.  I  love  to  watch  their  airy  mo- 
tions, notice  the  dark  brilliancy  of  their  fine  eyes, 
and  observe  the  delicate  flush  stealing  over  their 
cheeks,  but,  trust  me,  my  heart  is  untouched,  —  cold 


94  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

and  motionless  as  a  Jutland  lake  lighted  up  "by 
the  moonshine.  I  always  did  love  a  pretty  girl. 
Heaven  grant  there  is  no  harm  in  it!  ...  Mr. 
Garrison  will  deliver  an  address  on  the  Fourth  of 
July.  He  goes  to  see  his  Dulcinea  every  other 
night  almost,  but  is  fearful  of  being  c  shipped  off,' 
after  all,  by  her.  Lord  help  the  poor  fellow,  if  it 
happens  so.  I  like  my  business  very  well;  but 
hang  me  if  I  like  the  people  here.  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  a  few  girls,  and  have  no  wish  to  be 
so  with  many." 

In  March,  1831,  he  was  called  home  to  assist  his 
mother  in  the  settlement  of  his  father's  estate,  and 
he  remained  until  June  of  that  year.  From  Ha- 
verhill  he  sent  several  letters  to  the  "  Review." 
One  of  these  gives  a  lively  account  of  his  stage- 
ride  homeward,  and  another  is  devoted  to  politics. 
Gideon  Welles,  afterward  Abraham  Lincoln's  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  was  then  a  leader  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  of  Connecticut,  and  edited  the  Hart- 
ford "  Times."  Mr.  Whittier's  political  discussions 
during  his  stay  in  Hartford  were  mainly  with  this 
champion  of  the  Democracy.  While  at  Haverhill 
he  continued  his  work  upon  the  "  Review,"  his  ar- 
ticles being  sent  by  mail.  In  one  of  his  letters  he 
says :  "A  little  sister  of  mine,  a  girl  of  sixteen 
summers,  has,  like  her  luckless  brother,  a  disposi- 
tion to  make  rhymes.  The  following,  which  I 
have  somewhat  feloniously  and  of  malice  afore- 
thought abstracted  from  her  writing-desk,  is  a  speci- 
men of  her  versifying."  The  poem  is  a  description 
of  an  autumn  sunset,  of  which  this  is  the  first 
stanza :  — 


POLITICAL  DISCUSSIONS  95 

"  Oh,  there  is  beauty  in  the  sky  —  a  widening  of  gold 
Upon  each  light  and  breezy  cloud,  and  on  each  vapory  fold  ! 
The  autumn  wind  has  died  away,  and  the  air  has  not  a  sound, 
Save  the  sighing  of  the  withered  leaves  as  they  fall  upon  the 
ground." 

Then  follows  a  familiar  political  talk,  of  which 
this  is  a  specimen  :  — 

"How  goes  on  the  politics  of  the  State?  In 
supporting  the  ticket  nominated  by  the  convention 
I  act  not  from  personal  feeling.  I  might  even 
have  preferred  other  men  to  those  now  nominated, 
but  I  conceive  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every  man  who 
would  maintain  a  consistent  support  of  the  great 
principles  for  which  we  are  exerting  ourselves  at 
the  present  time,  to  lay  aside  everything  local  and 
unimportant,  and  act  for  the  general  good.  In  op- 
posing the  corruption  and  misrule  of  the  adminis- 
tration we  must  move  on  unitedly,  if  we  hope  for 
success.  Without  union  we  may  fail,  even  where 
five  eighths  of  our  citizens  are  enemies  of  Jackson- 
ism.  The  Calhotm  business  looks  encouraging. 
Crawford  is  to  all  intents  '  nullified,'  and  the 
friends  of  '  the  greatest  and  best  of  men '  are  leav- 
ing him,  as  his  political  horoscope  seems  at  the 
present  time  so  very  ill-boding.  This  place  [Essex 
North  Congressional  District]  has  been  the  theatre 
of  a  warm  political  warfare.  Mr.  Gushing  is  the 
most  popular  candidate  for  Congress,  and  I  trust 
he  will  be  elected." 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1831,  he  wrote  to  his 
friend,  Jonathan  Law :  — 

"  I  have  been  driving  about '  from  pillar  to  post ' 
ever  since  I  left  Hartford,  The  worst  of  it  is,  that 


96  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

all  this  locomotion  has  not  improved  my  health, 
which  is  still  in  a  rather  suspicious  state.  I  have 
been  away  '  Down  East,'  and  have  just  returned. 
I  have  not  received  a  line  from  Hartford  since  I 
left ;  I  do  wish  to  hear  from  you,  as  I  shall  proba- 
bly remain  in  this  section  two  or  three  weeks 
longer.  I  want  some  information  about  political 
matters  in  Connecticut.  .  .  .  My  sister  Elizabeth 
has  been  obliged  to  leave  the  academy  on  account 
of  her  health.  What'  a  poor  miserable  thing  is 
human  nature,  after  all !  — 

'  The  slightest  breath  can  shake  it, 
And  the  light  zephyr  easily  can  break  it.' " 

Before  definitely  giving  up  his  editorial  work 
on  the  "  Review,"  he  made  another  trip  to  his 
home  in  Haverhill,  and  was  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Crane,  as  in  the  condition  of  his  health  it  was  not 
thought  prudent  for  him  to  travel  alone.  But  he 
sent  the  physician  home  with  this  note  to  Mr. 
Law,  dated  October  27,  1831 :  "  You  have  got 
Dr.  Crane ;  but  for  me,  I  am  off  for  Salem,  not- 
withstanding the  doctor's  pledge  to  return  me 
'hale  and  breathing,'  or  with  my  bones  neatly 
done  up  in  his  traveling  trunk.  I  shall  probably 
see  Hartford  in  the  course  of  a  week  or  ten 
days." 

His  expectation  of  returning  to  Hartford  was 
not  realized,  although  early  in  December  he 
started  from  Haverhill  with  that  intention.  In 
his  absence  he  had  been  appointed  a  delegate 
from  Connecticut,  to  attend  a  convention  of  the 
National  Republican  party,  that  was  to  meet  in 
Baltimore  on  the  12th  of  December,  to  nominate 


Elizabeth  Hussey  Whittier 


GIVES    UP    THE  REVIEW  97 

a  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States.  As  a  friend  of  Henry  Clay,  he  desired  to 
attend  this  convention,  and  to  visit  Hartford  on 
his  way.  He  made  the  attempt,  but  upon  reach- 
ing Boston  found  he  had  not  the  strength  to  pro- 
ceed farther ;  indeed,  he  was  too  ill  to  return  at 
once  to  Haverhill. 

It  became  necessary  now  definitely  to  resign 
his  editorship  of  the  "  New  England  Review,"  and 
to  give  up  his  Hartford  life,  which  he  did  the  first 
of  January,  1832.  He  left  behind,  apparently, 
the  copy  for  the  "  Literary  Remains  of  J.  G.  C. 
Brainard,"  a  Connecticut  poet,  who  died  in  1828. 
He  edited  the  volume  and  wrote  a  biographical 
sketch,  but  in  a  letter  to  a  Hartford  friend, 
written  in  the  autumn  of  1832,  he  says  :  "I  have 
not  seen  a  copy  of  it ;  the  proof  was  not  sent,  and 
from  an  extract  or  two  which  I  have  seen,  it  is 
pretty  well  spiced  with  mistakes."  Meanwhile  he 
was  living  at  home  in  Haverhill,  with  more  leisure 
indeed,  and  with  many  plans,  but  with  that  con- 
sciousness of  physical  weakness  which  thereafter 
was  seldom  absent. 

The  following  letter  to  his  friend,  Jonathan 
Law,  dated  Haverhill,  January  5,  1832,  shows 
how  hard  it  was  for  him  to  give  up  his  political 
and  literary  work,  at  the  demand  of  a  persistent 
disease :  — 

"  Well,  I  have  at  last  written,  —  or  am  going 
to,  —  being  the  third  time  in  which  I  have  actually 
written  to  you  since  I  left  Hartford,  and  delayed 
because  I  expected  to  be  the  bearer  of  my  own 
epistle.  I  have  been  at  home  —  that  is  to  say,  in 


98  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

this  vicinity  —  all  the  time,  —  half  sick,  half  mad. 
For  the  last  fortnight  I  have  been  kept  close. 
Mr.  Barnard  has  doubtless  told  you  that  I  started 
for  Hartford  about  three  or  four  weeks  since,  and 
was  obliged  to  return.  Now  you  may  suppose 
that  I  have  got  the  'hypo.'  No  such  thing.  It 
is  all  as  real  as  the  nose  on  my  face,  this  illness 
of  mine,  —  alas,  too  real.  Nor  am  I  under  the 
cerulean  influence  of  the  blue  devils  now.  The 
last  blue-visaged  imp  has  departed  with  my  exor- 
cism ringing  in  his  ears  — '  Conjuro  te,  scelera- 
tissime,  abire  ad  tuum  locum.'  But  nonsense 
apart,  my  dear  sir,  what  shadows  we  are,  and 
what  shadows  we  pursue !  We  start  vigorously 
forward  with  something  for  our  object  —  up,  up, 
among  the  very  clouds  ;  we  toil  on,  we  sacrifice 
present  ease  and  present  happiness ;  we  turn  from 
real  blessings  to  picture  future  ones  —  unsubstan- 
tial as  the  fabric  of  the  summer  cloud  or  the 
morning  mist.  We  press  on  for  a  time,  the  over- 
taxed nerves  relax  from  their  first  strong  tension, 
until  the  mysterious  machinery  of  our  existence  is 
shattered  and  impeded,  until  the  mind  realizes 
that,  chained  down  to  material  grossness,  and 
clogged  with  a  distempered  and  decaying  mor- 
tality, it  cannot  rise  to  heaven.  Perhaps  it  is  well 
—  indeed  we  know  it  is  —  that  this  should  be  the 
end  of  human  ambition.  But,  oh,  how  humiliat- 
ing to  the  vanity  of  our  nature ! 

"Now,  don't  imagine  for  one  moment  that  I 
have  become  morose  and  melancholy.  Far  from 
it.  I  am  among  anxious  friends.  I  have  a  thou- 
sand sources  of  enjoyment,  even  in  the  midst  of 


PHYSICAL    WEAKNESS  99 

corporeal  suffering.  I  have  an  excellent  society 
here  to  visit  and  receive  visits  from,  —  my  early 
companions  and  those  who  have  grown  up  with 
me,  who  have  known  me  long  and  well.  I  have 
spent  some  time  in  Boston,  Salem,  Marblehead, 
Andover,  etc.,  among  'brave  men  and  fair  wo- 
men;' have  dabbled  somewhat  in  local  politics, 
and  am  extensively  popular  just  now  on  that  ac- 
count. The  girls  here  are  nice  specimens  of  what 
girls  should  be.  You  will  find  a  description  of 
one  or  two  of  them  in  a  poem  which  I  shall  send 
you  in  a  few  weeks,  perhaps  in  less  time,  —  a 
poem  partly  written  at  your  house,  and  which  is 
being  published.  It  lay  around  in  fragments, 
staring  me  everywhere  in  the  face,  and  at  last,  to 
get  rid  of  it,  I  have  given  it  over  to  the  book- 
makers. They  will  have  a  hard  bargain  of  it. 

"  Decency  forgive  me !  I  've  filled  up  two  pages 
with  that  most  aristocratic  little  pronoun  which 
represents  the  writer  of  this  epistle.  Misery 
makes  a  man  an  egotist,  the  world  over." 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Sigourney,  a  month  later, 
February  2,  1832,  he  repeats  this  information 
about  his  work,  but  adds  intimation  of  another 
literary  scheme  not  elsewhere  noted.1 

"  A  thousand  thanks  for  your  kind  letter,  which 
is  now  before  me  !  It  has  acted  upon  my  melan- 
choly feelings  like  a  spell  of  exorcism. 

'  Welcome  as  the  odor  fanned 

Around  the  weary  seaman's  keel 
From  some  unseen  and  flowery  land.' 

1  This  and  a  subsequent  letter  to  Mrs.  Sigourney  have  been 
kindly  furnished  by  Hon.  Charles  T.  Hoadley,  of  Hartford, 


100  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

I  say  melancholy  feelings  —  they  are  so  only  in 
consequence  of  ill  health,  and  visit  me  only  at 
long  intervals.  In  this  vicinity  I  have  everything 
to  make  me  happy,  —  quiet,  contentment,  and  a 
large  circle  of  warm  and  kind-hearted  friends. 
And  yet,  I  long  to  visit  Hartford ;  it  has  for  me 
a  thousand  pleasant  associations ;  and  the  op- 
portunity which  my  residence  there  afforded  me  of 
a  personal  acquaintance  with  yourself  is  to  me 
a  constant  source  of  self-congratulation.  When 
your  letter  arrived,  I  had  just  been  reading  for  the 
second  time  your  admirable  story  in  the  4  Ama- 
ranth.' I  know  not  what  others  may  say,  —  in- 
deed I  care  not,  —  but  I  do  honestly  think  that 
the  short  story  of  Jehiel  Wigglesworth,  aside  from 
the  laudable  object  which  the  author  evidently  had 
in  view,  contains  more  nature,  a  better  delinea- 
tion of  New  England  character,  and  a  closer 
imitation  of  the  real  Yankee  dialect,  than  all  the 
tales  and  novels  which  have  heretofore  filled  the 
circulating  libraries  or  the  newspapers  of  this 
country. 

"  I  intended  when  I  left  Hartford  to  proceed  im- 
mediately to  the  West.  But  a  continuance  of  ill 
health  has  kept  me  at  home.  I  have  scarcely  done 
anything  this  winter.  There  have  been  few  days 
in  which  I  have  been  able  to  write  with  any  degree 
of  comfort.  I  have  indeed  thrown  together  a  poem 
of  some  length,  the  title  of  which  (4  Moll  Pitcher ') 
has  very  little  connection  with  the  subject.  This 
poem  I  handed  to  a  friend  of  mine,  and  he  has 
threatened  to  publish  it.  It  will  not  have  the  ad' 
vantage  or  disadvantage  of  my  name,  however. 


WRITING  A    WORK   OF  FICTION        101 

I  have  also  written,  or  rather  begun  to  write,  a 
work  of  fiction,  which  shall  have  for  its  object  the 
reconciliation  of  the  North  and  the  South,  —  being 
simply  an  endeavor  to  do  away  with  some  of  the 
prejudices  which  have  produced  enmity  between 
the  Southron  and  the  Yankee.  The  style  which  I 
have  adopted  is  about  half-way  between  the  abrupt- 
ness of  Laurence  Sterne  and  the  smooth  graceful- 
ness of  W.  Irving.  I  may  fail,  —  indeed  I  suspect 
I  shall,  —  but  I  have  more  philosophy  than  poetry 
in  my  composition,  and  if  I  am  disappointed  in 
one  project,  I  have  only  to  lay  it  aside  and  take 
another  up.  If  I  thought  I  deserved  half  the 
compliments  you  have  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon 
my  humble  exertions,  I  should  certainly  be  in 
danger  of  becoming  obnoxious  to  the  charge  of 
vanity.  The  truth  is,  I  love  poetry,  with  a  love 
as  warm,  as  fervent,  as  sincere,  as  any  of  the  more 
gifted  worshipers  at  the  temple  of  the  Muses. 
I  consider  its  gift  as  something  holy  and  above  the 
fashion  of  the  world.  In  the  language  of  Francis 
Bacon,  'The  Muses  are  in  league  with  Time/ 
—  which  spares  their  productions  in  its  work  of 
universal  desolation.  But  I  feel  and  know  that 

*  To  other  chords  than  mine  belong 
The  breathing  of  immortal  song.' 

And  in  consequence,  I  have  been  compelled  to 
trust  to  other  and  less  pleasant  pursuits  for  dis- 
tinction and  profit.  Politics  is  the  only  field  now 
open  for  me,  and  there  is  something  inconsistent 
in  the  character  of  a  poet  and  modern  politician. 
People  of  the  present  day  seem  to  have  ideas 


102  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

similar  to  those  of  that  old  churl  of  a  Plato,  who 
was  for  banishing  all  poets  from  his  perfect  re- 
public. 

"  Did  you  ever  read  these  lines  from  Halleck  ?  — 

'  But  when  the  grass  grows  green  above  me, 
And  those  who  know  me  now  and  love  me 

Are  sleeping  by  my  side, 
Will  it  avail  me  aught  that  men 
Tell  to  the  world  with  lip  and  pen 

That  I  have  lived  and  died  ?  — 
No  ;   if  a  garland  for  my  brow 

Is  growing,  let  me  have  it  now, 

While  I  'm  alive  to  wear  it ; 
And  if  in  whispering  my  name 
There  's  music  in  the  voice  of  fame, 
Like  Garcia's,  let  me  hear  it ! ' 

Now  I  feel  precisely  so.  I  would  have  fame  with 
me  now,  —  or  not  at  all.  I  would  not  choose  be- 
tween a  nettle  or  a  rose  to  grow  over  my  grave. 
If  I  am  worthy  of  fame,  I  would  ask  it  now,  —  now 
in  the  springtime  of  my  years  ;  when  I  might 
share  its  smile  with  the  friends  whom  I  love,  and 
by  whom  I  am  loved  in  return.  But  who  would 
ask  a  niche  in  that  temple  where  the  dead  alone 
are  crowned  ;  where  the  green  and  living  garland 
waves  in  ghastly  contrast  over  the  pale,  cold  brow 
and  the  visionless  eye  ;  and  where  the  chant  of 
praise  and  the  voice  of  adulation  fall  only  on  the 
deafened  ear  of  Death  ? 

"  I  have  written  to  my  friend  B.  on  the  subject 
of  the  '  Amaranth,'  and  will  take  care  to  do  your 
other  errand  in  Boston.  I  have  a  book  in  my  pos- 
session —  the  poems  of  Alonzo  Lewis,  who  wished 
me  to  hand  it  to  you.  I  shall  be  in  Hartford  as 


MOLL   PITCHER  103 

soon  in  the  spring  as  the  traveling  will  admit. 
Will  you  remember  me  kindly  to  my  friend  Sta- 
miatiades  ?  I  am  happy  to  see  that  the  people  of 
Hartford  are  alive  on  the  subject  of  education  in 
Greece.  My  friend  Mr.  Law  will  hand  you  this. 
Excuse  this  hasty,  and  I  fear  incoherent,  letter, 
and  believe  me  that  nothing  would  afford  me 
greater  pleasure  than  a  speedy  return  to  Hartford.'* 

The  poem  to  which  he  refers  in  the  above  letters 
was  being  printed  in  Newburyport.  It  was  pub- 
lished by  Carter  &  Hendee,  Boston,  in  a  pamphlet 
of  twenty-eight  octavo  pages.  It  was  dedicated  to 
Dr.  Eli  Todd,  of  Hartford,  and  the  name  of  the 
author  does  not  appear  on  its  title-page.  The 
following  note  is  given  by  way  of  preface :  — 

"  The  following  pages,  dear  reader,  are  published 
neither  for  a  poetical  reputation  nor  for  money. 
The  former  is  unfortunately  a  most  indefinite,  and 
too  often  '  stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable,'  commodity, 
inasmuch  as  it  could  puzzle  the  French  cook,  who 
made  fifty  different  dishes  of  a  parsnip,  to  make 
either  meat  or  drink  of  it.  As  for  the  latter,  I 
have  not  enough  of  the  poetical  mania  in  my  dis- 
position to  dream  of  converting,  by  an  alchemy 
more  potent  than  that  of  the  old  philosophers,  a 
limping  couplet  into  a  brace  of  doubloons ;  or  a 
rickety  stanza  into  a  note  of  hand.  'Moll  Pitcher' 
(there  's  music  in  the  name)  is  the  offspring  of  a 
few  weeks  of  such  leisure  as  is  afforded  by  indis- 
position, and  is  given  to  the  world  in  all  its  origi- 
nal negligence,  —  the  thoughts  fresh  as  when  first 
conceived." 

The  story  of  the  poem  is  of  a  maiden  consulting 


104  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

the  witch  in  regard  to  her  lover,  who  is  at  sea. 
The  witch  has  some  cause  of  grievance  against  the 
maiden,  and  frightens  her  into  a  mild  insanity  by 
predictions  of  dire  calamity.  The  lover  returns 
safely,  and,  finding  his  betrothed  in  this  demented 
condition,  gradually,  by  love's  ministrations,  recalls 
her  to  her  right  mind,  and  at  length  "  the  thousand 
fancies  which  were  nursed  in  madness  vanish  one 
by  one."  The  concluding  scene  is  at  the  death- 
bed of  the  witch,  whose  last  hours  are  soothed  by 
the  gentle  care  of  a  daughter  of  the  woman  she  so 
cruelly  wronged,  and  to  whom  in  dying  she  gives 
her  blessing. 

In  1840,  a  revised  edition  of  "Moll  Pitcher" 
was  published  by  Joseph  Healy,  of  Philadelphia, 
this  edition  for  the  first  time  connecting  Mr. 
Whittier's  name  with  the  poem,  and  with  it  was 
printed  "  The  Minstrel  Girl,"  which  was  originally 
published  in  John  Neal's  "  Yankee,"  in  1829. 
This  last-named  poem  as  a  whole  is  unworthy  of  re- 
production, but  contains  some  stanzas  of  merit.  It 
makes  eight  pages  of  the  12mo  pamphlet. 

Mr.  Whittier  was  more  successful  in  suppressing 
"  Moll  Pitcher  "  than  he  was  with  his  later  poem, 
"  Mogg  Megone."  It  has  never  been  published  in 
any  collection  of  his  works,  and  as  a  whole  does 
not  deserve  to  be  perpetuated. 

Mr.  Whittier  sent  several  contributions  of  prose 
and  verse  to  the  "  Pearl,"  published  by  Isaac  C0 
Pray,  first  in  Hartford  and  afterward  in  Boston. 

"  The  Prisoner  for  Debt "  was  originally  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Pearl  "  for  December  12,  1835,  and 
the  date,  1849,  given  to  it  in  the  edition  of  1888  is 


CONTRIBUTIONS    TO  PERIODICALS     105 

an  error.     It  had  when  first  published  these  lines 
of  Pierpont  as  a  preface :  — 

"  Cast  down,  great  God,  the  fanes 
That  to  unhallowed  gains 

Round  us  have  risen  ; 
Temples  whose  priesthood  pore 
Moses  and  Jesus  o'er, 

Then  bolt  the  poor  man's  prison." 

Among  the  periodicals  to  which  Mr.  Whittier 
contributed  from  1829  to  1832,  beside  those  already 
named,  were  the  "  Columbian  Star,"  the  "  Connecti- 
cut Mirror,"  and  the  "  Ladies'  Magazine,,"  Mrs. 
Sarah  J.  Hale  was  then  editing  the  magazine 
last  named.  When  the  publication  of  the  "  Yan- 
kee "  was  suspended,  its  subscription  list  was  trans- 
ferred to  Mrs.  Hale's  magazine,  and  John  Neal 
for  a  short  time  assisted  in  editing  it.  To  illus- 
trate the  personal  style  of  journalism  in  those  days, 
N.  P.  Willis's  editorial  comment  upon  this  arrange- 
ment may  be  cited.  He  mentioned  the  union  of 
the  two  totally  dissimilar  periodicals,  and  added, 
41  The  mustard-pot  is  upset  in  the  milk-pan." 

The  Haverhill  "  Iris,"  of  September  29,  1832, 
contains  a  poem  entitled  "  To  a  Poetical  Trio  in  the 
City  of  Gotham,"  which  was  signed  by  no  name, 
and  was  not  known  to  be  Whittier's  until  since  his 
death.  But  among  his  papers  was  found  a  letter, 
written  many  years  after  the  publication  of  this 
poem,  by  one  of  the  "  Trio  "  satirized  in  it,  which 
fixes  its  authorship,  even  if  the  internal  evidence 
were  not  convincing.  It  is  an  appeal  to  Bryant, 
Leggett,  and  Lawson,  well-known  poets  of  that 
day,  and  at  the  same  time  editors  of  leading  Jack- 


106  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

son  papers  in  New  York  city,  to  give  up  their  par- 
tisan work,  and  come  out  for  Freedom,  as  Moore, 
Campbell,  and  Bulwer  were  doing  in  Great  Britain. 
Here  is  the  poem  in  full,  with  the  notes  that  ac- 
companied it :  — 

TO  A  POETICAL  TRIO  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOTHAM. 

Three  wise  men  of  Gotham 
Went  to  sea  in  a  bowl. 

BARDS  of  the  island  city !  —  where  of  old 

The  Dutchman  smoked  beneath  his  favorite  tree, 

And  the  wild  eyes  of  Indian  hunters  rolled 
On  Hudson  plunging1  in  the  Tappaan  Zee, 

Scene  of  Stuyvesant's  might  and  chivalry, 

And  Knickerbocker's  fame,  —  I  have  made  bold 

To  come  before  ye,  at  the  present  time, 

And  reason  with  ye  in  the  way  of  rl 


Time  was  when  poets  kept  the  quiet  tenor 

Of  their  green  pathway  through  th'  Arcadian  vale,  — 

Chiming  their  music  in  the  low  sweet  manner 

Of  song-birds  warbling  to  the  "  Soft  South  "  gale ; 

Wooing  the  Muse  where  gentle  zephyrs  fan  her, 
Where  all  is  peace  and  earth  may  not  assail  ; 

Telling  of  lutes  and  flowers,  of  love  and  fear, 

Of  shepherds,  sheep  and  lambs,  and  "  such  small  deer." 

But  ye  !  lost  recreants  —  straying  from  the  green 

And  pleasant  vista  of  your  early  time, 
With  broken  lutes  and  crownless  skulls  —  are  seen 
Spattering  your  neighbors  with  abhorrent  slime 
Of  the  low  world's  pollution !  l     Ye  have  been 

So  long  apostates  from  the  Heaven  of  rhyme, 
That  of  the  Muses,  every  mother's  daughter 
Blushes  to  own  such  graceless  bards  e'er  sought  her. 

"  Hurrah  for  Jackson  !  "  is  the  music  now 

Which  your  cracked  lutes  have  learned  alone  to  utter, 

1  Editors  of  the  Mercantile  Advertiser  and   the  Evening  Post 
in  New  York,  —  the  present  organs  of  Jacksonism. 


TO  A   POETICAL    TRIO  IN  GOTHAM    107 

As,  crouching  in  Corruption's  shadow  low, 

Ye  daily  sweep  them  for  your  bread  and  butter,1 

Cheered  by  the  applauses  of  the  friends  who  show 
Their  heads  above  the  offal  of  the  gutter, 

And,  like  the  trees  which  Orpheus  moved  at  will, 

Heel,  as  in  token  of  your  matchless  skill  ! 

'  Thou  son  of  Scotia !  2  —  nursed  beside  the  grave 

Of  the  proud  peasant-minstrel,  and  to  whom 

The  wild  muse  of  thy  mountain-dwelling  gave 
A  portion  of  its  spirit,  —  if  the  tomb 

Could  burst  its  silence,  o'er  the  Atlantic's  wave, 
To  thee  his  voice  of  stern  rebuke  would  come, 

Who  dared  to  waken  with  a  master's  hand 

The  lyre  of  freedom  in  a  fettered  land. 

And  thou !  —  once  treading  firmly  the  proud  deck 
O'er  which  thy  country's  honored  flag  was  sleeping, 

Calmly  in  peace,  or  to  the  hostile  beck 

Of  coming  foes  in  starry  splendor  sweeping,  — 

Thy  graphic  tales  of  battle  or  of  wreck, 

Or  lone  night-watch  in  middle  ocean  keeping, 

Have  made  thy  "  Leisure  Hours  "  more  prized  by  far 

Than  those  now  spent  in  Party's  wordy  war.8 

And  last,  not  least,  thou !  —  now  nurtured  in  the  land 
Where  thy  bold-hearted  fathers  long  ago 

Rocked  Freedom's  cradle,  till  its  infant  hand 
Strangled  the  serpent  fierceness  of  its  foe,  — 

1  Perhaps,  after  all,  they  get  something  better ;  inasmuch  aa 
the  Heroites  have  for  some  time  had  exclusive  possession  of  the 
Hall  of  St.  Tammany,  and  we  have  the  authority  of  Halleck  that 

"  There 's  a  barrel  of  porter  in  Tammany  Hall, 
And  the  Bucktails  are  swigging  it  all  the  night  long." 

2  James  Lawson,  Esq.,  of  the  Mercantile.     A  fine,  warm-hearted 
Scotchman,  who,  having  unfortunately  blundered  into  Jacksonism, 
is  wondering  "  how  i'  the  Deil's  name  "  he  got  there.     He  is  the 
author  of  a  volume  entitled  Tales  and  Sketches,  and  of  the  tragedy 
of  Giordano. 

8  William  Leggett,  Esq.,  of  the  Post,  a  gentleman  of  good  tal- 
ents, favorably  known  as  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Critic,  etc. 


108  EDITORIAL    EXPERIENCE 

Thou,  whose  clear  brow  in  early  time  was  fanned 
By  the  soft  airs  which  from  Castalia  flow  !  x  — 
Where  art  thou  now  ?  feeding  with  hickory  ladle 
The  curs  of  Faction  with  thy  daily  twaddle  1 

Men  have  looked  up  to  thee,  as  one  to  be 

A  portion  of  our  glory ;  and  the  light 
And  fairy  hands  of  woman  beckoned  thee 

On  to  thy  laurel  guerdon  ;  and  those  bright 
And  gifted  spirits,  whom  the  broad  blue  sea 

Hath  shut  from  thy  communion,  bid  thee,  "  Write" 
Like  John  of  Patmos.     Is  all  this  forgotten, 
For  Yankee  brawls  and  Carolina  cotton  ? 

Are  autumn's  rainbow  hues  no  longer  seen  ? 

Flows  the  "  Green  River"  through  its  vale  no  more  ? 
Steals  not  thy  "  Rivulet "  by  its  banks  of  green  ? 

Wheels  upward  from  its  dark  and  sedgy  shore 
Thy  "  Water  Fowl  "  no  longer  ?  —  that  the  mean 

And  vulgar  strife,  the  ranting  and  the  roar 
Extempore,  like  Bottom's,  should  be  thine,  — 
Thou  feeblest  truck-horse  in  the  Hero's  line  ! 

Lost  trio !  —  turn  ye  to  the  minstrel  pride 
Of  classic  Britain.     Even  effeminate  Moore 

Has  cast  the  wine-cup  and  the  lute  aside 
For  Erin  and  O'Connell ;   and  before 

His  country's  altar,  Bulwer  breasts  the  tide 
Of  old  oppression.     Sadly  brooding  o'er 

The  fate  of  heroes  struggling  to  be  free, 

Even  Campbell  speaks  for  Poland.     Where  are  ye  ? 

Hirelings  of  traitors  !  —  know  ye  not  that  men 

Are  rousing  up  around  ye  to  retrieve 
Our  country's  honor,  which  too  long  has  been 

Debased  by  those  for  whom  ye  daily  weave 
Your  web  of  fustian ;  that  from  tongue  and  pen 

Of  those  who  o'er  our  tarnished  honor  grieve, 
Of  the  pure-hearted  and  the  gifted,  come 
Hourly  the  tokens  of  your  master's  doom  ? 

l  William  C.  Bryant,  Esq.,  well  known  to  the  public  at  large 
as  a  poet  of  acknowledged  excellence  ;  and  as  a  very  dull  editor 
to  the  people  of  New  York. 


TO  A   POETICAL    TRIO   IN  GOTHAM    109 

Turn  from  their  ruin  !     Dash  your  chains  aside  ! 

Stand  up  like  men  for  Liberty  and  Law, 
And  free  opinion.     Check  Corruption's  pride, 

Soothe  the  loud  storm  of  fratricidal  war,  — 
And  the  bright  honors  of  your  eventide 

Shall  share  the  glory  which  your  morning  saw ; 
The  patriot's  heart  shall  gladden  at  your  name, 
Ye  shall  be  blessed  with,  and  not  "  damned  to  fame  "  ! 

Both  Bryant  and  Leggett,  in  a  few  years,  be- 
came champions  of  freedom,  to  the  great  delight 
of  Whittier,  who  wrote  not  only  a  spirited  poetical 
tribute  to  Leggett,  when  "  St.  Tammany  "  proposed 
to  build  a  monument  to  the  man  whom  living  they 
persecuted,  but  a  brilliant  eulogy  in  prose  of  one 
who  gave  up  a  splendid  prospect  of  political  prefer- 
ment rather  than  forswear  his  allegiance  to  the 
despised  cause  of  abolitionism.  The  poem,  "  Bry- 
ant on  his  Birthday,"  gives  Whittier's  later  esti- 
mate of  his  older  brother  in  poetry.  Lawson  l  was 
the  only  one  of  the  "  Poetical  Trio  "  who  did  not 
take  part  in  anti-slavery  work ;  but  that  the  Scotch- 
man retained  his  personal  friendship  for  Whittier 
is  shown  by  a  letter  written  by  him  thirty-six  years 
after  the  publication  of  the  sharp  satire  given 
above.  But  for  this  letter,  found  among  the  pa- 
pers of  Mr.  Whittier,  no  one  would  have  guessed 
that  it  was  the  Haverhill  poet  who  had  taken  these 
three  stalwart  New  Yorkers  over  his  knee.  The 

1  James  Lawson,  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  1799.  Resided 
in  New  York  city  and  in  Yonkers,  after  1815.  Published  Tales 
and  Sketches,  by  a  Cosmopolite,  in  1830,  and,  at  various  times,  Gior- 
dano, a  tragedy,  and  many  fugitive  prose  and  poetical  articles  in 
periodicals.  Allibone  says  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  introduce 
American  letters  to  the  notice  of  British  readers.  He  retired  from 
active  literary  work  in  1833. 


110  EDITORIAL    EXPERIENCE 

poem  does  not  appear  to  have  been  copied  in  the  pa- 
pers of  the  day,  and  is  now  reproduced  for  the  first 
time. 

Other  articles,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  from  the 
pen  of  Whittier,  may  be  found  in  files  of  the 
Haverhill  "Iris"  for  1832.  In  the  number  for 
April  12  is  a  prose  sketch  entitled  "  The  Stormed 
Fort,"  a  tale  of  the  East  Indies  in  the  year  1766. 
A  drunken  Irish  sailor  captures  a  well-garrisoned 
fort,  single-handed  and  against  orders,  and  when 
threatened  with  punishment  for  his  foolhardy  act, 
vows  he  will  never  take  another  fort  so  long  as  he 
lives,  which  so  amuses  the  admiral  that  he  is  let  off. 

From  1831  to  1835  Mr.  Whittier  contributed 
prose  and  verse  to  the  "  New  England  Magazine," 
edited  by  Joseph  T.  Buckingham,  afterwards  editor 
of  the  "  Boston  Courier."  It  was  in  this  magazine 
that  "  Mogg  Megone "  first  appeared,  and  eight 
shorter  poems,  including  "  Toussaint  L'Ouverture," 
"The  French  Martyr,"  "A  Lament,"  "Song  o£ 
the  Yermonters,"  and  "  The  Demon  of  the  Study." 
His  prose  contributions  to  this  monthly  included! 
*'  The  Opium  Eater,"  "  Passaconawayr"  and 
"  Powow  Hill."  This  last  named  hill  is  now  known 
as  Po  Hill,  an  abbreviation  of  its  original  name ; 
the  river  which  flows  at  its  base  is  still  called  the 
Powow.  The  legend  opens  with  the  following  de- 
scription of  the  hill,  and  account  of  the  origin  of  its 
name :  — 

"  On  the  border  of  the  Merrimac,  some  eight  or 
ten  miles  from  the  ocean,  there  rises  a  steep  eminence 
called  Powow  Hill.  It  is  a  landmark  to  the  skip- 
pers of  the  coasting  craft  that  sail  up  Newburyport 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  MAGAZINE      111 

harbor,  and  strikes  the  eye  by  its  abrupt  elevation 
and  orbicular  shape,  the  outlines  being  as  regular 
as  if  struck  off  by  the  sweep  of  a  compass.  It 
obtained  its  name  from  that  pagan  ceremonial  of 
the  aborigines ;  for  in  ancient  times,  ere  our  worthy 
and  pious  ancestors  routed  these  heathen  from  the 
land,  the  hill  in  question  was  the  grand  high  place 
of  Indian  worship,  and  the  nocturnal  powows  upon 
its  summit  were  the  terror  and  abomination  of  the 
whole  neighborhood.  While  the  savages  lingered 
in  these  parts  they  never  failed  annually  to  assemble 
on  this  consecrated  mount  and  practice  their  mys- 
terious orgies,  greatly  to  the  scandal  and  annoyance 
of  all  the  Christian  folk  that  dwelt  round  about,  they 
having  a  pious  horror  of  the  practice  of  powowing, 
deemed  by  Cotton  Mather  as  damnable  and  demo- 
niacal. Even  when  the  last  of  the  red  men  had 
disappeared  from  the  country,  the  scene  of  their 
mystic  incantations  continued  to  be  regarded  with 
profound  awe.  A  spirit  of  the  pagan  mysteries 
dwelt  about  the  spot.  Strange  sights  were  seen. 
A  marvelous  legend  was  current." 

The  legend  as  told  by  Whittier  is  of  a  bewitched 
Yankee  who  was  taken  by  his  runaway  horse  to 
the  top  of  the  hill,  into  the  midst  of  a  spectral 
powow  of  savage  ghosts.  It  is  one  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  sketches  written  by  Whittier  between  the 
years  1829  and  1833,  which  he  did  not  care  to  have 
reproduced  in  any  collection  of  his  works. 

As  intimated,  and  as  the  letters  already  printed 
plainly  show,  Whittier's  interest  was  divided  be- 
tween literature  and  politics  ;  and  how  strongly  the 
latter  absorbed  his  attention  may  be  most  clearly 


112  EDITORIAL    EXPERIENCE 

seen  by  the  manner  in  which  it  forces  itself  into 
a  letter  to  Mrs.  Sigourney,  who  naturally  would  be 
his  literary  rather  than  his  political  confidante. 
The  letter  was  written  in  January,  1833. 

"  I  have  often  feared,  and  perhaps  not  without 
reason,  that  those  whom  I  most  truly  love  and 
esteem,  and  whose  good  opinion  I  value  above  all 
other  human  considerations,  are  sometimes  inclined 
to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  my  friendship  and  the 
warmth  of  my  heart.  In  my  personal  intercourse 
with  them  a  boyish  diffidence,  which  manhood 
has  not  been  able  to  forget,  and  a  most  unpardon- 
able lack  of  words,  —  a  want  of  the  ready  coin,  — 
the  circulating  medium  of  conversation,  —  have,  I 
am  well  aware,  too  often  made  me  appear  cold,  dis- 
tant, and  as  incapable  of  appreciating  the  delicate 
attentions  and  generous  sympathies  of  friendship 
as  of  returning  them.  And,  in  my  epistolary  cor- 
respondence, my  habit  of  procrastination  —  per- 
petually resolving  to  do  to-morrow  what  should  be 
done  to-day  —  has  made  me  liable  to  the  charge 
of  neglecting  my  friends.  But  if  I  know  my  own 
heart  (and  I  have  long  been  in  the  habit  of  turn- 
ing a  severe  eye  upon  myself,  and  closely  analyz- 
ing my  own  feelings),  I  am  incapable  of  will- 
fully neglecting  any  one  who  feels  an  interest  in 
my  welfare,  and,  however  unfortunate  I  may  be 
in  their  expression,  however  ambiguous  and  con- 
tradictory may  seem  their  revelation  to  others,  I 
have  warm  and  deep  and  kind  feelings.  I  believe 
there  is  not  a  particle  of  misanthropy  in  my  dis- 
position ;  and  I  am  more  at  peace  with  the  whole 
world  than  with  myself,  not  that  I  and  myself  are 


LETTER   TO  MRS.  SIGOURNEY         113 

much  in  the  habit  of  quarreling.  But,  I  believe 
in  the  holy  realities  of  friendship,  —  pure,  lofty, 
intellectual;  a  communion  of  kindred  affinities, 
of  mental  similitudes,  —  a  redemption  from  the 
miserable  fetters  of  human  selfishness ;  a  prac- 
tical obedience  to  the  beautiful  injunction  of  our 
Common  Friend,  'Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.' 
I  believe,  too,  that  the  pure  love  which  we  feel 
for  our  friends  is  a  part  and  portion  of  that  love 
which  we  owe  and  offer  to  our  Creator,  and  is 
acceptable  to  Him,  inasmuch  as  it  is  offered  not 
to  the  decaying  elements  of  humanity,  but  to 
those  brighter  and  holier  attributes  which  are  of 
themselves  the  emanations  of  the  Divinity,  —  to 
those  pure  emotions  of  the  heart  and  those  high 
capacities  of  the  soul  in  which  that  Divinity  is 
most  clearly  manifested  ;  and  that,  in  proportion 
as  we  draw  near  to  each  other  in  the  holy  commun- 
ion and  unforbidden  love  of  earthly  friendship,  we 
lessen  the  distance  between  our  spirits  and  their 
Original  Source,  —  just  as  the  radii  of  a  circle  in 
approaching  each  other  approach  also  their  common 
centre. 

"  I  hope,  my  dear  Mrs.  S.,  you  will  not  attribute 
my  neglect  to  answer  your  letter,  and  to  acknow- 
ledge my  obligations  for  the  beautiful  notice  of 
Brainard,  to  anything  like  disregard  on  my  part. 
All  my  friends  are  complaining  of  me  for  not 
answering  their  letters.  Continued  ill  health 
and  natural  indolence,  and  the  daily  duties  of 
a  large  farm,  must  be  my  excuse.  Of  poetry  I 
have  nearly  taken  my  leave,  and  a  pen  is  getting 
to  be  something  of  a  stranger  to  me.  I  have  been 


114  EDITORIAL   EXPERIENCE 

compelled  again  to  plunge  into  the  political  whirl- 
pool ;  for  I  have  found  that  my  political  reputa- 
tion is  more  influential  than  my  poetical :  so  I  try 
to  make  myself  a  man  of  the  world  —  and  the  public 
are  deceived,  but  /  am  not.  They  do  not  see  that 
I  have  thrown  the  rough  armor  of  rude  and  tur- 
bulent controversy  over  a  keenly  sensitive  bosom, 
—  a  heart  of  softer  and  gentler  emotions  than  I 
dare  expose.  Accordingly,  as  Governor  Hamilton, 
of  South  Carolina,  says,  I  have  'put  on  athletic 
habits  for  the  occasion.' 

"And  speaking  of  South  Carolina,  what  think 
you  of  the  prospect  in  the  political  heavens  ?  To 
me,  all  is  dark  and  fearful.  If  the  Protecting 
System  is  abolished,  New  England  must  suffer 
deeply  and  wrongfully ;  and  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  bloodthirsty  old  man  at  the  head  of  our 
government  shall  undertake  to  put  down  South 
Carolina  with  the  bayonet,  from  that  moment  our 
Union  will  be  broken  up  —  never  to  unite  again. 
Blood  cannot  cement  it.  For  one,  I  thank  God 
that  He  has  given  me  a  deep  and  invincible  horror 
of  human  butchery,  — that  I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  '  look  on  blood  and  carnage  with  composure.' 
When  Paine  put  forth  his  strong,  and  at  that 
time,  at  least,  well-directed,  energies  in  favor  of 
sparing  the  life  of  Louis  XVI.  before  the  French 
Convention,  Marat  fiercely  denounced  him  as  '  a 
Quaker,  destitute  of  that  philosophic  liberality 
requisite  for  putting  men  to  death.'  I  meet  with 
a  great  many  Marats  at  the  present  day. 

"  I  have  occasionally  seen  an  article  of  your  poetry 
during  the  last  year.  I  wish  you  would  take  the 


LETTER    TO  MRS.  SIGOURNEY         115 

trouble  to  send  me,  if  convenient,  such  new  pieces 
as  you  may  publish.  I  have  written  two  or  three 
prose  articles  for  4  Buckingham's  Magazine.'  Have 
you  seen  the  4  Knickerbocker,'  published  by  Pea« 
body  &  Cole,  of  New  York?  I  don't  think  much 
of  No.  1.  There  is  not  an  article  of  poetry  in  it 
which  you  would  think  paid  the  trouble  of  readingo 
Halleck,  Irving,  Paulding,  Hoffman,  and  Bryant 
are  engaged  in  it,  I  understand.  I  have  been  re- 
quested to  write  for  it,  but  don't  know  as  I  shall 
be  able  to.  I  am  glad  to  see  that  the  '  Bouquet ' 
still  continues ;  't  is  the  last  light  in  your  benighted 
literary  horizon.  Hartford  is  by  no  means  a  lit- 
erary place,  and  it  has  been  remarked  that  were 
it  not  for  yourself  it  would  be  only  known  as  the 
place  where  a  certain  Convention  once  assembled. 
Have  you  seen  Garrison's  4  Thoughts  on  Coloni- 
zation '  ?  I  wish  you  would  read  that  book.  I 
know  your  predilection  for  the  Colonization  Soci- 
ety, but  I  regret  it. 

"  This  letter  will  be  handed  you  by  Mr.  Law, 
with  whom  I  occasionally  correspond.  Is  Mr.  Sta- 
miatiades  with  you  now  ?  If  so,  remember  me 
kindly  to  him,  and  assure  him  of  my  best  wishes ; 
and,  for  yourself,  let  me  assure  you  that  your  let- 
ters, whether  frequent  or  far  between,  are  to  me 
as  angel  visits." 

The  following  letter  to  Jonathan  Law,  written 
on  the  13th  of  September,  1832,  gives  a  further 
glimpse  of  his  life  on  the  farm,  while  relieved  of 
editorial  work,  and  shows  how  the  Asiatic  cholera, 
which  was  then  spreading  over  New  England, 
affected  the  public  mind :  — 


116  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  my  kind  friends  at  Hart- 
ford. Whatever  may  be  my  faults,  I  trust  ingrati- 
tude is  not  among  their  number.  I  already  owe 
you  and  your  family  more  than  I  shall  ever  suit- 
ably repay.  But  if  my  life  and  health  are  spared 
me,  you  may  always  rely  upon  me  as  a  firm,  and 
I  hope  not  altogether  useless,  friend.  My  health 
has  been  bad,  nay,  is  so  at  this  moment,  but  I 
have  still  tolerable  courage,  and  I  am  able  to  see 
to  the  affairs  of  the  farm.  I  am  happy  to  find 
that  your  city  continues  healthy.  We  have  had 
only  one  case  [of  cholera]  in  our  village,  and  the 
patient  is  now  nearly  recovered.  The  disease  has 
at  last  broken  out  in  Boston ;  five  fatal  cases  have 
occurred  within  the  last  day  or  two.  For  my  own 
part,  I  felt  extremely  nervous  about  the  cholera 
when  it  broke  out  in  Montreal  and  Quebec ;  but  it 
has  now  come  to  our  doors,  and  familiarity  softens 
its  terrors.  It  is  a  singular  fact  in  the  philosophy 
of  the  human  mind  that  in  proportion  as  the 
dangers  which  we  most  fear  at  a  distance  gather 
closer  around  us,  we  become  reckless,  hardened, 
and  secure.  I  have  vainly  tried  to  analyze  my 
own  feelings  in  this  matter.  ...  I  send  you  a  copy 
or  two  of  the  '  Essex  Gazette/  containing  two 
numbers  of  a  series  of  articles  upon  that  scandal- 
ous veto  of  Amos  Kendall's.  I  have  written  no- 
thing of  late  save  local  political  paragraphs,  with 
the  single  exception  of  a  piece  published  in  the 
Haverhill  'Iris,'  which  you  probably  noticed, 
headed  '  Stanzas,'  and  prefaced  by  two  extracts 
from  the  speeches  of  Henry  Clay.  .  .  .  Do  you 
often  see  our  mutual  friend,  Mrs.  Sigourney?  I 


LETTER    TO  JONATHAN  LAW          117 

think  highly  of  that  woman,  —  she  has  fine  talents, 
and  they  are  all  devoted  to  the  best  of  causes. 

"If  I  recollect  aright,  in  your  last  letter  you 
spoke  despairingly  of  a  matter  connected  with  the 
elevation  of  Mr.  Clay  to  the  Presidency.  [Mr. 
Law  had  been  postmaster  of  Hartford,  but  was 
displaced  by  Jackson.  Probably  he  had  expressed 
the  opinion  that  Clay,  if  elected,  would  not  replace 
him.]  I  do  not  view  the  matter  as  you  do.  I 
believe  that  justice  will  be  done  if  that  desirable 
event  takes  place.  I  see  no  reason  now  for  de- 
spairing of  Mr.  Clay's  election.  New  York  is  lost, 
and  so  is  Kentucky,  and  so  is  Pennsylvania  to  the 
Jackson  cause.  If  Henry  Clay  is  elected,  all  will 
be  well.  Restoration  must  follow  as  a  necessary 
consequence  of  our  abhorrence  of  proscription  for 
opinion's  sake.  ...  I  know  not  when  I  shall  be  in 
Hartford  again ;  even  if  my  health  was  restored 
I  should  not  leave  this  place.  I  have  too  many 
friends  around  me,  and  my  prospects  are  too  good 
to  be  sacrificed  for  any  uncertainty.  I  have  done 
with  poetry  and  literature.  I  can  live  as  a  farmer, 
and  that  is  all  I  ask  at  present.  I  wish  you  could 
make  me  a  visit,  you  and  Mrs.  Law ;  our  situation 
is  romantic  enough,  —  out  of  the  din  and  bustle 
of  the  village,  with  a  long  range  of  green  hills 
stretching  away  to  the  river ;  a  brook  goes  brawl- 
ing at  their  foot,  overshadowed  with  trees,  through 
which  the  white  walls  of  our  house  are  just  visible. 
In  truth,  I  am  as  comfortable  as  one  can  well  be, 
always  excepting  ill  health." 

There  are  other  letters  of  this  period  which 
show  that  it  was  political  and  not  literary  ambition 


118  EDITORIAL  EXPERIENCE 

that  was  animating  him  in  the  years  immediately 
preceding  his  consecration  to  the  cause  of  the  op- 
pressed. When  he  speaks  of  his  prospects  being 
"too  good  to  be  sacrificed  for  any  uncertainty," 
his  meaning  is  that  he  is  aware  of  his  political 
popularity  in  his  district.  At  about  the  time  when 
this  letter  was  written,  he  was  considering  a  prop- 
osition made  by  his  friends  that  he  should  become 
a  candidate  for  Congress.  All  that  prevented  his 
doing  so  was  the  fact  that  he  was  not  yet  quite 
twenty-five  years  old,  and  therefore,  as  he  sup- 
posed, barred  out  by  a  provision  of  the  Consti- 
tution. 


CHAPTER  IV, 

ENLISTMENT  IN  THE  WAR  AGAINST  SLAVERY. 

1832-1837. 

UP  to  1832,  when  he  returned  from  Hartford 
to  his  home  in  Haverhill,  Mr.  Whittier's  highest 
ambition,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  to  make  his 
mark  in  politics.  To  be  sure,  he  had  written,  in 
about  three  years,  more  than  a  hundred  poems, 
counting  only  those  that  were  published.  He  must 
have  taken  some  pride  in  seeing  his  verses  widely 
copied,  and  in  the  reputation  as  a  rising  poet  that 
was  accorded  him  by  some  of  the  best  writers  of 
his  time.  But  poetry  was  praised  and  not  paid  for 
in  those  days,  and  literature  offered  no  alluring 
prizes  to  American  youth.  The  academies  and 
colleges  were  turning  out  a  mob  of  amateur  rhyme- 
sters. Theological  students  were  intent  upon  giv- 
ing a  new  twist  to  the  Psalms  of  David.  Young 
doctors  and  lawyers  were  translating  the  Odes  of 
Horace  while  waiting  for  patients  and  clients. 
Even  Daniel  Webster,  in  his  ponderous  way,  dal- 
lied with  the  Muses,  and  John  Quincy  Adams, 
the  busiest  man  of  his  day,  spent  hours  in  fashion- 
ing rhymed  lines  for  albums.  Scarcely  a  profes- 
sional man  of  that  generation  was  so  utterly  prosaic 
as  to  escape  the  infection.  The  field  was  certainly 
not  an  encouraging  one  for  a  poet  who  should  de- 


120      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLA  VERY 

pend  upon  his  verses  for  a  living.  Mr.  Whittier 
had  tried  his  wings  in  the  gusty  air  of  politics  and 
found  they  would  bear  him,  and  it  was  in  this 
direction  that  he  was  looking  for  his  life  work. 
While  managing  his  farm,  he  kept  up  his  contri- 
butions to  political  papers,  and  took  an  active  part 
in  the  politics  of  his  native  town,  and  of  Essex 
County. 

Caleb  Cushing,  of  Newburyport,  had  just  re- 
turned from  Europe,  and  was  beginning  to  feel 
the  stirrings  of  political  ambition.  Young  Whit- 
tier  helped  him  to  secure  a  seat  in  Congress,  and 
Cushing,  who  was  seven  years  his  senior,  encour- 
aged his  aspirations  to  political  preferment.  For 
a  time,  all  his  impulses  were  in  that  direction. 
His  work  as  a  political  editor  had  brought  him  in 
contact  with  the  leaders  of  his  party,  and  his 
marked  ability  as  a  writer  and  his  honesty  and 
sagacity  in  the  party  councils  were  appreciated. 
He  was  becoming  known  as  an  anti-slavery  man, 
it  is  true,  but  that  did  not  then  disqualify  one  for 
leacjership  in  either  party,  in  New  England. 
Besides,  his  Quakerism  was  a  good  excuse  for  his 
conscience.  Our  orthodox  fathers  in  that  genera- 
tion were  taking  more  kindly  to  Quakers  than  to 
heretics  in  other  sects,  like  Unitarians  and  Uni- 
versalists,  and  were  ready  to  humor  what  were 
regarded  as  their  whims.  So  that  up  to  1833, 
when  Whittier  was  in  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  his 
age,  whatever  thought  he  had  for  the  future,  out- 
side of  his  work  as  a  farmer,  was  in  the  direction 
of  politics.  In  1833,  his  attention  had  been  called 
by  Garrison,  of  whom  he  had  seen  little  for  the 


POLITICAL  AMBITION  121 

past  three  years,1  to  the  importance  of  arousing 
the  nation  to  a  sense  of  its  guilt  in  the  matter  of 
slavery.  He  did  not  need  any  change  of  heart  to 
become  an  abolitionist.  As  a  birthright  Quaker 
he  inherited  the  traditions  of  his  sect  against  the 
institution  of  slavery.  But  he  had  been  hoping 
by  moral  means,  and  by  efforts  within  the  lines  of 
the  old  parties,  to  secure  the  gradual  extinction  of 
a  system  so  out  of  harmony  with  our  otherwise 
free  institutions.  A  word  from  Garrison  caused 
him  thoroughly  to  study  the  situation.  All  the 
literature  of  the  subject  within  his  reach  was 
examined  carefully.  Among  the  Southern  news- 
papers to  which  he  had  access  he  found  evidence 
that  whatever  thought  of  extinguishing  slavery 
had  animated  the  fathers  of  the  republic,  and 
prompted  the  anti-slavery  utterances  of  Washington 
and  Jefferson,  no  such  idea  was  now  entertained 
by  any  of  the  Southern  people.  The  demand  for 
slave  labor  in  the  rice  swamps  and  cotton  fields  of 
the  extreme  South  had  made  the  raising  of  slaves 
profitable  in  Virginia,  and  in  other  States  in  which 
hitherto  the  "  institution  "  had  seemed  doomed  to 
extinction  as  an  economic  mistake.  He  found,  too, 
that  both  the  great  parties  of  the  North  were 
beginning  to  discipline  their  members  who  were 
too  urgent  in  pressing  measures  that  might  lose  to 
them  the  support  of  the  Southern  States.  He  had 
learned  something  of  this  change  in  the  popular 

1  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  November,  1831,  he  published  in  the 
Haverhill  Gazette  his  poem,  "  To  William  Lloyd  Garrison,"  which 
now  introduces  the  section  Anti-Slavery  Poems  in  his  collected 
works. 


122      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

feeling  from  the  experience  of  his  friend  Garrison, 
who  had  been  imprisoned  at  Baltimore  for  his  free 
utterance  of  anti-slavery  sentiments.  This  inci- 
dent occurred  at  about  the  time  when  Whittier  took 
the  editorship  of  the  "  New  England  Review,"  in 
1830.  In  January,  1831,  Garrison  began  the 
publication  of  the  "  Liberator,"  in  Boston.  He 
uttered  his  memorable  ultimatum  :  "  I  am  in  ear- 
nest, I  will  not  equivocate,  I  will  not  excuse,  I  will 
not  retreat  a  single  inch,  and  I  will  be  heard." 
Whittier  counted  the  cost  with  Quaker  coolness  of 
judgment  before  taking  a  step  that  closed  to  him 
the  gates  of  both  political  and  literary  preferment. 
He  realized  more  fully  than  did  most  of  the  early 
abolitionists  that  the  institution  of  slavery  would 
not  fall  at  the  first  blast  of  their  horns.  When 
he  decided  to  enter  upon  this  contest,  he  under- 
stood that  his  cherished  ambitions  must  be  laid 
aside,  and  that  an  entire  change  in  his  plans  was 
involved.  He  took  the  step  deliberately  and  after 
serious  consideration. 

In  later  life,  in  giving  counsel  to  a  boy  of  fifteen, 
Mr.  Whittier  said  that  his  own  early  ambition  had 
been  to  become  a  prominent  politician,  and  from 
this  ideal  he  was  persuaded  only  by  the  earnest 
appeals  of  his  friends.  Taking  their  advice,  he 
united  with  the  persecuted  and  obscure  band  of 
abolitionists,  and  to  this  course  he  attributed  all 
his  after  success  in  life.  Then,  turning  to  the 
boy,  he  placed  his  hand  on  his  head,  and  said  in 
his  gentle  voice  :  "  My  lad,  if  thou  wouldst  win 
success,  join  thyself  to  some  unpopular  but  noble 


JUSTICE  AND  EXPEDIENCY  123 

In  the  spring  of  1833,  while  caring  for  his 
farm,  and  doing  some  literary  work  for  the 
Haverhill  "  Gazette  "  and  other  journals,  he  wrote 
the  pamphlet  entitled  "  Justice  and  Expediency," 
and  published  it  at  his  own  expense.  It  must 
have  cost  him  a  good  part  of  his  year's  earnings, 
beside  the  time  spent  in  examining  the  many 
authorities  he  cites.  It  is  an  argument  to  prove 
the  expediency  of  being  just.  The  injustice  of 
slavery  is  shown  with  much  warm  rhetoric.  The 
entire  literature  of  the  subject  had  evidently  been 
carefully  studied.  Every  statement  is  backed  up 
by  quotations  from  unquestioned  authority,  and 
by  references  in  footnotes.  Probably  no  single 
anti-slavery  paper  ever  published  covered  the 
ground  so  completely  as  this.  It  is  thorough  in 
statement,  carefully  reasoned,  and  enforced  by  di- 
rect appeals  to  the  conscience  and  the  heart  of  the 
nation.  Many  good  men,  both  at  the  North  and 
at  the  South,  had  satisfied  their  consciences  by 
promoting  the  scheme  of  the  African  Colonization 
Society.  A  few  slaveholders  had  freed  their 
slaves,  and  many  thousands  of  dollars  had  been 
spent  in  colonizing  them  in  Liberia.  With  these 
freed  slaves  had  been  sent  a  large  number  of  ne- 
groes who  had  never  been  slaves.  Henry  Clay 
was  the  President  of  the  Colonization  Society,  a 
position  he  had  held  for  twenty  years,  and  there- 
after until  his  death.  The  political  party  with 
which  Whittier  had  acted  numbered  among  its 
leaders  many  active  promoters  of  the  colonization 
scheme.  Collections  for  it  were  taken  up  regu- 
larly in  the  churches.  To  denounce  this  society, 


124      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

as  not  a  help,  but  a  great  hindrance  to  the  cause 
of  the  blacks,  was  therefore  a  bold  act  for  a  young 
man  who  had  been  looking  forward  to  a  life  in 
politics.  The  pamphlet  gives  six  reasons  why  the 
Colonization  Society  was  unworthy  of  support, 
and  fortifies  them  by  citations  from  the  official 
papers  of  the  society.  It  points  out  the  ludi- 
crous inconsistency  of  the  advocates  of  coloniza- 
tion, who  in  one  breath  say  with  Henry  Clay, 
"  Each  emigrant  is  a  missionary,  carrying  with 
him  the  holy  cause  of  civilization,  religion,  and 
free  institutions ; "  and  in  the  next  breath  say, 
with  the  official  organ  of  the  society,  "  Free 
blacks  are  a  greater  nuisance  than  even  slaves 
themselves."  It  shows  that  the  only  adequate 
remedy  for  slavery  is  abolition.  The  pamphlet  is 
published  in  full  in  the  prose  works  of  Mr.  Whit- 
tier.1 

It  attracted  immediate  attention,  and  the  edi- 
tion he  had  issued  was  soon  exhausted.  Lewis 
Tappan,  of  New  York,  caused  it  to  be  printed  in 
the  monthly  organ  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  and  paid  for  issuing  an  extra  edition  of 
5000  copies.  Moses  Brown,  of  Providence,  an 
aged  and  wealthy  Quaker  philanthropist,  had  influ- 
ence enough  to  procure  its  publication  in  the  Prov- 
idence "  Journal,"  although  the  conductor  of  that 
paper  had  no  sympathy  with  its  tone.  Some  idea 
of  the  temper  with  which  this  pamphlet  was  re- 
ceived at  the  South  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  for 
lending  to  a  brother  doctor  this  pamphlet  of  Mr. 
Whittier's,  Dr.  Reuben  Crandall,  of  Washington, 

1  Riverside  edition,  vol.  vii. 


JUSTICE  AND  EXPEDIENCY  125 

was  in  1834  arrested,  and  confined  in  the  old  city 
prison,  until  his  health  was  destroyed,  and  he 
was  liberated  only  to  die.  This  incident  is  re- 
ferred to  in  the  poem  "  Astraea  at  the  Capitol :  "  — 

"  Beside  me  gloomed  the  prison  cell 

Where  wasted  one  in  slow  decline 
For  uttering  simple  words  of  mine, 
And  loving  freedom  all  too  well." 

At  the  time  when  Mr.  Whittier  was  writing  this 
pamphlet,  he  was  not  calculating  upon  the  far- 
reaching  effect  it  might  have  upon  his  own  for- 
tunes. It  did  not  occur  to  him  until  his  man- 
uscript was  ready  for  publication  that  it  would 
seriously  interfere  with  his  political  ambitions.  He 
was  all  that  summer  actively  helping  the  canvass 
of  Caleb  Gushing,  writing  spirited  communications 
to  the  "  Iris  "  over  various  signatures,  and  sending 
them  with  private  notes  of  political  advice  to  Ed- 
itor Harriman.1 

His  letters  to  Gushing  and  other  political  asso- 
ciates at  this  time  are  also  full  of  enthusiasm  for 
his  party.  But  as  he  was  about  to  issue  his  pam- 
phlet, a  prophetic  glimpse  of  its  real  effect  came  to 
him,  and  it  caused  him  sleepless  nights.  A  deci- 
sion to  follow  the  path  of  duty  at  all  hazards  ended 
the  struggle,  and  the  decision  was  never  regretted, 

1  As  a  specimen  of  the  style  of  these  notes,  take  this,  dated  at 
his  farm,  "5th  mo.  15,  1833:"  "Fullington,  at  the  Rocks,  says 
there  is  no  chance  for  Gushing,  and  thinks  it  would  be  better  to 
take  a  Gushing  man  from  Lowell.  I  don't  see  the  use  of  this  ; 
you  can  do  nothing  with  the  Lowell  folk  ;  choose  a  man  there  for 
this  Congress,  and  he  will  stand  for  the  next.  If  Osgood  [the 
Jackson  candidate]  is  elected,  National  Republicanism  in  this 
district  will  go  to  its  long  home." 


126      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

although  it  crowded  his  life  with  hardships  for 
many  years,  and  ended  all  his  dreams  of  political 
preferment.  He  announced  to  Caleb  Gushing  his 
intention  to  publish  "Justice  and  Expediency," 
in  the  following  letter,  dated  "5th  mo.,  1833." 
After  urging  his  friend  not  to  decline  the  candi- 
dacy, even  if  the  next  ballot  should  go  against 
him,  and  prophesying  ultimate  election,  he  says  :  — 
"About  a  fortnight  ago,  I  took  up  a  pamphlet 
containing  your  remarks  at  the  colonization  meeting 
in  Boston.  In  that  frankness  which  accords  with 
my  ideas  of  doing  to  others  as  I  would  be  done  by, 
I  cannot  but  say  that  I  deeply  regret  this  publica- 
tion. So  far  as  literary  merit  is  concerned  the 
speech  is  worthy  of  you,  but  I  dissent  from  your 
opinions  most  radically,  and  so  do  a  great  majority 
of  the  people  in  this  vicinity.  I  shall  probably  send 
you  in  a  week  or  two  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject 
of  slavery,  written  hastily  and  under  many  disad- 
vantages. Most  of  the  facts  it  contains  you  are 
probably  already  acquainted  with.  There  may  be 
some,  however,  which  have  escaped  your  observa- 
tion. I  beg  of  you  to  lend  your  mind  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  this  most  momentous  question,  be- 
lieving as  I  do  that  you  can  do  a  great  deal  for 
the  cause  of  suffering  humanity.  I  should  like  to 
have  you  make  this  pamphlet  and  others  recently 
published  on  the  subject  the  basis  of  an  article  in 
some  of  our  reviews  or  magazines.  That  you  will 
differ  from  me  I  know,  and  shall  therefore  expect 
to  be  handled  without  gloves,  but  credit  me,  my 
dear  sir,  I  had  much  rather  fall  under  the  stoccado 
of  a  gentlemanly  and  scientific  swordsman  than  be 


WORKING  FOR  HENRY  CLAY  127 

bunglingly  hewed  in  pieces  like  Agag  of  old  under 
the  broadaxe  of  the  Prophet.  I  have  only  time 
again  to  beg  you,  whatever  may  be  the  result  of 
this  trial,  to  allow  yourself  to  be  a  candidate  still. 
Sooner  or  later  we  must  triumph. 

"  I  am  almost  sorry  that  I  troubled  you  in  a  for- 
mer letter  with  my  own  private  matters.  But  that 
letter  was  written  under  an  exciting  sense  of  unpro- 
voked injury.  With  all  my  Quakerism,  I  cannot 
but  sometimes  give  way  to  indignant  feeling,  when 
my  best  motives  are  tortured  into  evil  ones." 

Both  Garrison  and  Whittier  had  been  actively 
friendly  to  the  Colonization  Society  up  to  1830. 
The  papers  conducted  by  them  set  forth  its  claims, 
and  in  his  Fourth  of  July  address,  delivered  in 
Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  in  1829,  Mr.  Garrison 
made  an  earnest  appeal  for  the  cause.  Even  after 
his  pamphlet  was  issued,  in  1833,  Whittier  contin- 
ued for  a  year  working  for  the  cause  of  Henry  Clay, 
in  the  hope  that  eventually  he  would  assume  the 
role  of  the  champion  of  freedom.  But  in  1834  he 
wrote :  "  We  regret  that  truth  and  the  cause  of 
humanity,  which  he  has  betrayed,  compel  us  to 
speak  of  Henry  Clay  as  the  enemy  of  Freedom." 
His  last  tribute  to  the  Kentucky  statesman,  writ- 
ten in  1833,  began  with  this  stanza :  — 

"  The  Grecian  as  he  feeds  his  flocks, 
In  Tempe's  vale,  on  Morea's  rocks, 
Or  where  the  gleam  of  bright  blue  waters 
Is  caught  by  Scio's  white-armed  daughters, 
While  dwelling  on  the  dubious  strife 
Which  ushered  in  his  nation's  life, 
Shall  mingle  in  his  grateful  lay 
Bozzaris  with  the  name  of  Clay." 


128      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

In  1830,  when  Garrison  was  imprisoned  at  Bal- 
timore, Whittier  appealed  to  Clay  for  his  release, 
and  Clay,  who  recognized  the  value  of  Whittier' s 
friendship,  promptly  responded  to  the  appeal.  But 
Arthur  Tappan,  of  New  York,  had  even  more 
promptly  paid  Garrison's  fine,  else  the  young  agi- 
tator would  have  owed  his  release  to  the  Kentucky 
slave-owner.1 

Among  the  Southern  papers  that  took  notice  of 
Whittier's  pamphlet  was  the  Richmond  "  Jeffer- 
sonian,"  which  complained  that  no  sooner  had  the 
accursed  tariff  ceased  to  be  the  stone  of  stumbling 
and  the  rock  of  offense,  than  Northern  enthusiasts 
began  to  interfere  with  the  domestic  institutions 
of  the  South.  Whittier,  well  primed  with  anti- 
slavery  quotations  from  Jefferson  and  other  Virgin- 
ian statesmen,  made  a  ringing  reply  to  the  "  Jeffer- 
sonian "  in  the  "  Essex  Gazette,"  published  at 
Haverhill.  He  showed  that  the  doctrines  of  the 
men  for  whom  their  paper  was  named  were  every 
whit  as  anti-slavery  as  those  of  the  enthusiasts  who 
were  accused  of  furnishing  a  sufficient  reason  for 
"  poising  the  Ancient  Dominion  on  its  sovereignty," 
and  rousing  every  slave-owner  to  military  prepa- 
ration. This  reply  to  the  "  Jeffersonian  "  is  a  far 
more  pointed  paper  than  the  original  pamphlet. 
Like  that,  it  is  full  of  quotations,  and  abounds  in 
footnotes,  showing  great  research,  and  a  special 
familiarity  with  Virginia  politics,  not  only  of  that 

1  Mr.  W.  H.  Smith,  who  has  possession  of  Clay's  papers,  and  is 
preparing  his  biography,  has  found  a  letter  of  Whittier's,  written 
in  1837,  earnestly  urging  the  Kentuckian  to  come  out  as  the 
champion  of  freedom ;  so  strong  still  was  the  personal  attraction 
which  his  early  political  idol  had  for  him. 


REPLY  TO  A  SOUTHERN  PAPER   129 

time  but  of  former  generations.  He  quotes  at  every 
turn  from  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe ;  from 
Blackstone,  Lafayette,  and  O'Connell;  from  the 
statute-books  of  South  Carolina,  and  from  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  census.  He  acknowledges  they  have 
under  the  Constitution  the  power  to  hold  their  slave 
property,  but  denies  they  have  any  moral  right  to 
take  advantage  of  the  power.  New  England,  he 
says,  will  abide  unto  the  death  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  land,  but  she  asks  to  be  relieved  of  the  duty 
of  hunting  down  fellow-men  like  wild  beasts,  when 
they  are  struggling  desperately  for  liberty.  In 
attacking  slavery,  the  abolitionists  recommend  no 
measure  conflicting  with  the  Constitution.  They 
would  not  excite  or  encourage  a  rebellion  among 
slaves.  They  hold  such  attempts  in  utter  abhor- 
rence, by  whomsoever  made.  They  are  opposed  to 
any  political  interposition  of  the  government  in 
regard  to  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the  States.  He 
goes  on  at  some  length  to  reiterate  and  emphasize 
this  disclaimer.  He  says  slavery  has  made  deso- 
late and  sterile  one  of  the  loveliest  regions  of  the 
whole  earth,  and  points  to  the  hillsides  gullied  and 
naked,  the  fields  run  over  with  brier  and  fern. 
Then  he  shows  how  the  rocky  soil  of  New  England 
lies  green  and  luxuriant  beneath  the  sun  of  our 
brief  summer.  Free  labor  has  changed  a  landscape 
wild  and  savage  as  the  night  scenery  of  Salvator 
Kosa  into  one  of  pastoral  beauty,  the  abode  of  inde- 
pendence and  happiness.  One  of  the  concluding 
paragraphs  of  the  paper  makes  this  reference  to 
John  Randolph,  then  recently  deceased :  — 

"  The  late  noble  example  of  the  eloquent  states- 


130      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

man  of  Roanoke,  the  manumission  of  Ms  slaves, 
speaks  volumes  to  his  political  friends.  In  the 
last  hour  of  his  existence,  when  his  soul  was 
struggling  from  its  broken  tenement,  his  latest 
effort  was  the  confirmation  of  this  generous  act 
of  a  former  period.  Light  rest  the  turf  upon 
him,  beneath  his  patrimonial  oaks !  The  prayers 
of  many  hearts  made  happy  by  his  benevolence 
shall  linger  over  his  grave,  and  bless  it." 

These  letters  in  reply  to  the  Richmond  paper 
were  written  in  July,  1833,  less  than  one  month 
after  the  death  of  Randolph,  and  published  in  the 
"  Essex  Gazette."  The  passage  last  quoted,  as 
he  wrote  it  in  prose,  probably  awakened  the  in- 
spiration of  his  noble  poem,  "  Randolph  of  Roa- 
noke,"  which  was  first  published  in  the  "  National 
Era,"  in  January,  1847,  it  being  one  of  his  earli- 
est contributions  to  that  paper  when  he  assumed 
the  position  of  corresponding  editor.  It  had  prob- 
ably been  lying  in  his  portfolio  for  more  than  thir- 
teen years.  Several  lines  in  the  poem  indicate 
that  it  was  written  not  long  after  Randolph's 
death,1  which  occurred  June  24,  1833. 

The   die   was   now   cast.      Whittier  had   com- 

1  The  manumitted  slaves  of  John  Randolph,  three  hundred  in 
number,  could  not  be  allowed  to  remain  free  in  Virginia.  Ran- 
dolph's executor  bought  land,  erected  buildings,  and  made  other 
preparations  for  them  in  Bremen,  Mercer  County,  Ohio,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  over  $30,000.  But  when  it  came  to  settling  them  on 
the  new  purchase,  the  people  of  the  vicinity,  including  the  very 
men  who  sold  the  land  and  had  the  money  in  their  pockets,  raised 
a  mob,  and  insisted  on  driving  them  back  into  Virginia.  A  bond 
had  to  be  given  that  the  negroes  should  not  become  paupers,  be- 
fore they  were  allowed  to  remain  upon  the  land  purchased  for 
them. 


VOICES  OF  FREEDOM  131 

mitted  himself  to  a  cause  he  was  sagacious  enough 
to  see  was  not  to  be  a  winning  one  for  a  long 
series  of  years.  He  had  sacrificed  to  it  the  am- 
bitions of  his  young  manhood,  and  knew  as  a  poet 
and  editor  he  had  lost  all  chance  of  gaining  the 
position  to  which  he  had  been  aspiring.  Now 
came  years  in  which  he  felt  the  pinch  of  poverty, 
as  he  had  not  before  experienced  it.  The  poems 
that  were  arousing  the  conscience  of  the  nation 
brought  him  no  income.  His  mother  and  sister 
heartily  approved  his  course,  and  aided  him  in 
maintaining  it.  Strict  economy  enabled  him  to 
keep  out  of  debt,  meagre  as  were  the  supplies 
from  such  editorial  and  book-keeping  work  as  he 
found  to  do.  His  pen  was  kept  busy  in  advo- 
cating the  cause  he  had  espoused,  and  the  poems 
known  as  the  "  Voices  of  Freedom  "  came  rapidly 
one  after  another,  —  hammer  strokes  against  flinty 
prejudice.  Sparks  followed  each  blow.  Those 
who  are  old  enough  remember  how  these  spirited 
verses  stirred  and  warmed  the  young  hearts  of  the 
North,  and  prepared  the  soil  from  which  sprang 
the  great  political  party  which  took  from  him  the 
watchword,  "  Justice  the  highest  expediency." 

There  was  a  sudden,  even  startling  change  in 
the  character  of  Whittier's  poetry,  when  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  champion  the  cause  of  the  slave. 
The  hundreds  of  poems  he  had  written  previous  to 
1833  were  mere  exercises  in  rhetoric  and  versifi- 
cation ;  they  had  none  of  the  vivifying  spirit  which 
breathes  in  all  he  wrote  after  he  consecrated  him- 
self to  the  holy  cause  of  liberty.  Whittier  himself 
was  always  ashamed  of  his  early  literary  work, 


132      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

both  prose  and  verse,  and  little  of  it  was  with 
Tiis  consent  saved  from  oblivion.  And  yet,  as  we 
have  seen,  these  early  writings  gave  him  a  lit- 
erary reputation  which  would  have  been  highly 
valued  by  any  other  author  of  that  time.  They 
were  widely  copied  in  the  newspapers  of  the  land. 
It  is  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of  Mr.  Whittier 
that  his  biographer,  who  has  before  him  great  num- 
bers of  these  early  and  forgotten  poems,  decides  to 
bring  to  light  only  the  few  verses  to  be  found  in 
preceding  pages,  to  show  their  quality,  and  to  in- 
dicate the  remarkable  change  to  which  reference 
has  been  made.  When  this  change  came,  as  has 
been  said  of  him  by  another,  "  he  became  the  Voice 
for  which  a  few  had  been  wearily  waiting,  yet 
which  exasperated  and  terrified  the  whole  country. 
To  these  few,  therefore,  Whittier  at  once  became  a 
prophet;  to  the  many,  an  object  of  detestation." 
His  first  years  of  literary  work  had  given  him 
a  reputation  at  once  general  and  flattering,  which 
was  thrown  aside  without  regret  when  the  voice 
which  called  him  to  higher  duty  was  heard. 

Early  in  November,  1833,  Mr.  Garrison  wrote 
to  Whittier,  asking  him  to  go  as  one  of  the  dele- 
gates from  Massachusetts  to  the  National  Anti- 
Slavery  Convention,  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia 
in  December.  In  answer  to  this  call,  he  wrote  to 
Garrison  from  Haverhill,  November  11,  1833  :  — 

"  I  long  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  to  urge  upon  the 
members  of  my  religious  Society  the  duty  of 
putting  their  shoulders  to  the  work,  to  make  their 
solemn  testimony  against  slavery  visible  over  the 
whole  land ;  to  urge  them  by  the  holy  memories 


ANTI-SLAVERY  CONVENTION          133 

of  Woolman,  and  Benezet,  and  Tyson,  to  come 
up  as  of  old  to  the  standard  of  Divine  Truth?*- 
though  even  the  fires  of  another  persecution 
should  blaze  around  them.  But  the  expenses  of 
the  journey  will,  I  fear,  be  too  much  for  me,  as 
thee  knows  our  farming  business  does  not  put 
much  cash  in  our  pockets.  I  am,  however,  greatly 
obliged  to  the  Boston  Young  Men's  Association 
for  selecting  me  as  one  of  their  delegates.  I  do 
not  know  how  it  may  be,  —  but  whether  I  go  or 
not,  my  best  wishes  and  my  warmest  sympathies 
are  with  the  friends  of  emancipation.  Some  of 
my  political  friends  are  opposed  to  my  anti- 
slavery  sentiments,  and  perhaps  it  was  in  some 
degree  owing  to  this  that,  at  the  late  convention 
for  the  nomination  of  Senators  for  Essex,  my 
nomination  was  lost  by  one  vote.  I  should  have 
rejoiced  to  have  had  an  opportunity  to  cooperate 
personally  with  the  abolitionists  of  Boston.  .  .  . 
Can  thee  not  find  time  for  a  visit  to  Haverhill 
before  thee  goes  on  to  Philadelphia?  I  wish  I 
was  certain  of  going  with  thee.  At  all  events,  do 
write  immediately  on  receiving  this,  and  tell  me 
when  thee  shall  start  for  the  Quaker  City." 

The  pecuniary  difficulty  was  removed  by  the 
generosity  of  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  one  of  the  earliest 
and  most  efficient  supporters  of  the  cause  of  eman- 
cipation. The  journey  to  Philadelphia  was  mostly 
by  stagecoach.  Mr.  Whittier,  the  youngest  dele- 
gate to  the  convention,  was  accompanied  by  other 
members  from  New  England,  including  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  Joshua  Coffin,  Arnold  Buffum, 
and  eight  others  from  Massachusetts,  and  Rev. 


134      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

David  Thurston,  of  Winthrop,  Maine,  the  oldest 
delegate  in  the  convention.  Mr.  Whittier  was 
appointed  one  of  the  secretaries,  and  he  was  also 
on  the  committee,  of  which  Garrison  was  chair- 
man, that  drafted  the  memorable  "  Declaration  of 
Sentiments." 

In  an  article  published  in  the  "Atlantic 
Monthly,"  February,  1874,1  Mr.  Whittier  gives 
reminiscences  of  this  convention,  with  pen-portraits 
of  some  of  his  associates.  He  makes  in  this  con- 
nection an  interesting  remark  in  regard  to  the  di- 
vision that  had  recently  taken  place  in  the  Society 
of  Friends.  This  division  was  regarded  as  unfor- 
tunate for  the  interests  of  the  convention,  as  the 
cooperation  of  the  Society  had  been  counted  upon 
when  Philadelphia  was  selected  as  the  place  of 
meeting.  He  says  :  — 

"  The  Society  of  Friends  had  but  recently  been 
rent  asunder  by  one  of  those  unhappy  contro- 
versies which  so  often  mark  the  decline  of  prac- 
tical righteousness.  The  martyr  age  of  the  so- 
ciety had  passed,  wealth  and  luxury  had  taken  the 
place  of  the  old  simplicity,  there  was  a  growing 
conformity  to  the  maxims  of  the  world  in  trade 
and  fashion,  and  with  it  a  corresponding  unwilling- 
ness to  hazard  respectability  by  the  advocacy  of 
unpopular  reforms.  Unprofitable  speculation  and 
disputation  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  vain  attempt  on 
the  other  to  enforce  uniformity  of  opinion,  had 
measurably  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  end  of 
the  gospel  is  love,  and  that  charity  is  the  crown- 

1  Reprinted  in  vol.  vii.  of  the  Riverside  edition  of  Whittier'a 
writings. 


DECLARATION  OF  SENTIMENTS       135 

ing  virtue.  After  a  long  and  painful  struggle  the 
disruption  had  taken  place,  the  shattered  fragments 
under  name  of  Orthodox  and  Hicksite,  so  like,  and 
yet  so  separate  in  feeling,  confronted  each  other  as 
hostile  sects." 

In  these  words  he  describes  the  closing  scenes  of 
the  convention :  — 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  our  session, 
the  Declaration,  with  its  few  verbal  amendments, 
carefully  engrossed  on  parchment,  was  brought 
before  the  convention.  Samuel  J.  May  rose  to 
read  it  for  the  last  time.  His  sweet,  persuasive 
voice  faltered  with  the  intensity  of  his  emotions  as 
he  repeated  the  solemn  pledges  of  the  concluding 
paragraphs.  After  a  season  of  silence,  David 
Thurston,  of  Maine,  rose  as  his  name  was  called 
by  one  of  the  secretaries,  and  affixed  his  name  to 
the  document.  One  after  another  passed  up  to 
the  platform,  signed,  and  retired  in  silence.  All 
felt  the  deep  responsibility  of  the  occasion ;  the 
shadow  and  forecast  of  a  life-long  struggle  rested 
upon  every  countenance." 

Mr.  Whittier's  own  appearance  at  this  conven- 
tion is  sketched  by  J.  Miller  McKim  :  — 

"  He  wore  a  dark  frock-coat,  with  standing  col- 
lar, which,  with  his  thin  hair,  dark  and  sometimes 
flashing  eyes,  and  black  whiskers,  not  large,  but 
noticeable  in  those  unhirsute  days,  gave  him,  to 
my  then  unpracticed  eye,  quite  as  much  of  a  mili- 
tary as  a  Quaker  aspect.  His  broad  square  fore- 
head and  well-cut  features,  aided  by  his  incipient 
reputation  as  a  poet,  made  him  quite  a  noticeable 
feature  of  the  convention." 


136      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

Of  the  sixty-two  members  of  the  convention, 
twenty-one  were  Quakers.  There  were  twelve 
delegates  from  Massachusetts.  The  Declaration 
of  Sentiments,  drafted  by  Garrison,  urged  imme- 
diate emancipation  as  a  moral  duty,  to  be  accom- 
plished by  peaceful  measures  only,  and  conceded 
the  right  of  the  States  to  manage  their  domestic 
institutions,  without  interference  from  the  general 
government.  But  the  duty  of  suppressing  the 
slave-trade  between  the  several  States,  and  of 
abolishing  slavery  altogether  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  in  the  Territories,  was  set  forth 
with  much  force.  This  declaration  was  engrossed 
on  parchment,  and  signed  by  all  the  delegates. 
Of  his  own  signature  to  this  declaration  Mr. 
Whittier  said :  "  I  set  a  higher  value  on  my  name 
as  appended  to  the  Anti-Slavery  Declaration  of 
1833,  than  on  the  title-page  of  any  book."  A  fac- 
simile of  this  document,  framed  in  oak  from  the 
ruins  of  Pennsylvania  Hall,  destroyed  by  the  mob 
of  1838,  was  always  given  a  conspicuous  place  in 
his  home  at  Amesbury.1 

In  January,  1834,  the  New  England  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  held  its  annual  meeting  in  Boston. 
Mr.  Whittier  was  not  able  to  attend,  but  sent  a 
letter  the  reading  of  which  is  said  to  have  had  a 
thrilling  effect  upon  the  audience. 

In  March,  1834,  Mr.  Whittier  wrote  the  follow- 
ing letter  to  Kev.  Dr.  William  Ellery  Channing, 

1  Since  his  death  it  has  been  given  to  the  youngest  son  of 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  who  has  also  the  table  upon  which  the 
document  was  signed  and  the  inkstand  which  was  used  on  this 
historic  occasion. 


LETTER   TO  DR.  CHANNING  137 

hoping  to  induce  this  eminent  divine  to  lend  the 
cause  of  immediate  emancipation  the  weight  of  his 
great  influence.  Channing  had  already  been  con- 
sidering the  subject  of  slavery,  and  had  begun  to 
write  his  clear,  logical,  dispassionate,  but  incisive 
essay  against  the  institution.  His  letter  to  Dr. 
Follen  upon  this  theme  was  soon  after  made  public, 
and  later,  in  the  same  year,  a  sermon  was  delivered 
by  him  against  the  mobs  which  had  then  begun  to 
disgrace  New  England  cities.  His  great  work  on 
slavery  was  published  the  next  year.  He  took 
his  own  way,  as  was  his  wont  in  all  matters,  in 
dealing  with  this  reform,  and  this  led  to  severe 
criticism  upon  him  from  one  wing  of  the  anti- 
slavery  reformers ;  but  from  the  first,  Whittier 
recognized  the  great  value  of  his  service  to  the 
cause,  and  did  not  join  in  the  detraction.  His 
letter  to  Channing  was  written  from  Haverhill,  on 
the  24th  of  3d  month,  1834.  He  said  :  — 

"  A  recent  perusal  of  thy  sermons  published  in 
1832,  by  Bowen,  has  induced  me,  although  a 
stranger,  to  address  thee.  From  all  that  I  have 
seen  of  thy  writings,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  was 
thy  aim  to  make  Christianity  a  practical  matter ; 
a  living,  a  beneficent  reality,  such  as  its  Founder 
intended ;  a  real  bond  of  holy  brotherhood  which 
should  unite  all  the  human  family,  unshackle 
mind  and  body,  and  bless  all  the  children  of  our 
Heavenly  Father  with  that  liberty  wherewith  He 
has  made  them  free.  My  attention  has  been  par- 
ticularly directed  to  the  sentiment  expressed  in 
the  sermons  above  mentioned  in  pages  153,  162, 
165,  166.  To  my  mind  the  elevated  sentiment  of 


138      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

these  passages  has  a  direct  bearing  upon  a  great 
question  now  agitating  the  community,  —  I  allude 
to  the  slavery  question,  —  the  doctrine  of  imme- 
diate emancipation.  I  am  but  an  humble  individ- 
ual, and  were  my  subject  less  important  I  should 
not  seek  with  my  feeble  voice  the  ear  of  one 
whose  name  and  fame  have  no  narrower  limits 
than  those  of  Christianity  itself ;  but  I  cannot  for- 
bear expressing  to  thee  my  heartfelt  desire,  my 
earnest  hope,  that  these  great  powers  of  intellect 
with  which  a  merciful  God  has  favored  thee  may 
be  exerted  at  this  crisis  in  the  great  cause  of 
emancipation.  I  cannot  doubt  thy  sentiments  on 
this  subject ;  may  I  beg  of  thee  to  openly  cooper- 
ate with  that  great  and  deserved  influence  which 
Providence  has  allotted  to  thy  profession,  with 
those  who  are  now  striving  in  this  cause,  4  to  break 
every  chain  of  selfishness,  to  enlarge  and  invig- 
orate the  kind  affections,  to  identify  themselves 
with  other  beings,  to  sympathize  not  with  a  few, 
but  with  all  the  living  and  rational  creatures  of 
God.'  [An  extract  from  Channing's  writings.]  So 
shall  the  blessings  of  many  who  are  ready  to  per- 
ish come  upon  thee.  The  deep  interest  which  I 
feel  in  this  great  point  of  Christian  duty  must  be 
my  apology  for  this  abrupt  epistle." 

We  now  come  to  the  period  when  Mr.  Whittier 
was  to  experience  some  of  the  difficulties  attending 
the  warm  advocacy  of  an  unpopular  cause.  Mr. 
Garrison  began  the  publication  of  the  "  Liberator" 
in  January,  1831.  He  had  previously,  at  Balti- 
more and  Bennington,  Vt.,  shown  his  strong  pur- 
pose to  fight  the  institution  of  slavery  to  the  death. 


THE   COLONIZATION  SOCIETY         139 

At  first,  he  had  sympathy  and  help  from  all  classes 
of  people  at  the  North.  The  colonization  scheme 
had  for  some  time  been  looked  upon  with  favor  by 
philanthropists,  at  the  South  as  well  as  at  the 
North ;  but,  as  it  afterward  appeared,  for  widely 
different  reasons.  At  the  North  it  was  looked 
upon  as  a  means  of  gradually  extinguishing  slavery, 
by  removing  the  negroes  to  Africa.  At  the  South, 
there  was  less  and  less  purpose  to  do  away  with 
the  institution,  either  gradually  or  at  all.  It  was 
just  beginning  to  be  profitable.  Colonization 
meant  to  the  slaveholders  a  way  of  disposing  of 
the  free  people  of  color,  who  made  the  slaves  un- 
easy, and  occasionally  helped  them  to  escape, 
while  at  the  North,  the  Colonization  Society  was 
generally  regarded  as  engaged  in  a  worthy  mission 
of  Christian  philanthropy  —  indeed  as  a  branch  of 
the  foreign  mission  work.  For  would  not  the 
Christianized  negroes  carry  to  benighted  Africa 
the  religion  and  the  civilization  they  had  acquired 
during  their  stay  with  us  ? 

It  was  when  Garrison  began  to  denounce  the 
Colonization  Society  as  u  the  handmaid  of  slavery  " 
that  he  stirred  up  a  tempest  among  the  churches. 
For  a  long  series  of  years  they  had  been  taking  up 
collections  for  this  handmaid  of  the  missions,  as 
they  had  regarded  it.  The  call  for  immediate 
emancipation  had  not  given  much  offense  among 
the  churches  outside  the  commercial  cities,  as  slav- 
ery was  universally  considered  at  the  North  an  evil 
to  be  done  away  with  at  some  time,  and  the  gen- 
eral feeling  was,  the  sooner  the  better. 

All  over  the  North,  it  was  for  a  tune  an  easy 


140      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

matter  to  organize  an  anti-slavery  society.  Hun- 
dreds of  them  were  at  work  upon  public  sentiment 
in  New  England,  and  every  town  in  some  parts  of 
Ohio  had  such  societies,  and  they  were  approved 
by  all  the  churches.  There  was  comparatively 
little  objection  (except  in  the  cities)  to  the  word 
"  immediate,"  which  was  insisted  upon  by  Garrison. 
But  many  prominent  clergymen,  statesmen,  and 
merchants,  who  were  identified  with  the  coloniza- 
tion movement,  were  angered  at  once  when  their 
pet  philanthropy  was  denounced  as  a  bulwark  of 
slavery.  Whittier's  pamphlet  and  his  replies  to 
the  Virginia  editors  had  strongly  reinforced  the 
position  taken  by  Garrison. 

The  mobs  that  for  a  series  of  years  disgraced 
the  cities  of  New  England  had  their  origin 
partly  in  the  feeling  that  the  abolitionists  were  in 
conflict  with  the  churches,  and  partly  in  the  fear 
of  business  men  that  our  commercial  relations 
with  the  South  were  imperiled  by  the  agitation. 
The  dirty  work  of  these  riots  was  done  by  men 
who  had  no  care  about  the  principle  involved,  but 
who  saw  that  they  had  license  for  rough  sport  and 
even  violence,  and  that  they  would  not  be  inter- 
fered with  by  the  classes  which  usually  insisted 
upon  order. 

When  Garrison  was  in  England,  in  1833,  he 
invited  George  Thompson  to  visit  this  country, 
and  deliver  anti-slavery  addresses.  Thompson 
was  one  of  the  most  eloquent  of  the  English 
reformers  who  had  secured  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  all  the  British  colonies.  He  came  to  America 
in  September,  1834,  and  wherever  he  appeared 


IN   THE   GENERAL   COURT  141 

was  at  first  well  received.  Garrison  says  of  him 
that  he  was  a  young  man  of  thirty,  tall,  graceful, 
and  with  a  sweet  voice.  "  As  an  orator,"  he  adds, 
"he  surpasses  any  speaker  I  have  ever  heard." 
He  was  prudent  enough  at  the  start,  not  to  attempt 
addressing  audiences  in  New  York  or  Boston. 
He  spoke  at  several  small  places  in  Massachu- 
setts, where  his  eloquence  was  greatly  admired. 
He  went  to  Maine,  and  was  well  received  in  Port- 
land and  Brunswick,  but  met  his  first  demonstra- 
tion of  violence  at  Augusta,  where  his  windows 
were  broken. 

At  length,  the  word  seems  to  have  been  passed 
over  the  whole  country  that  he  was  a  "British 
emissary,"  who  had  come  to  make  trouble  between 
North  and  South,  and  cause  a  disruption  of  our 
Union,  for  the  benefit  of  the  manufacturers  and 
merchants  of  England.  The  jealousy  of  our  mo- 
ther country  was  intense  at  that  time,  and  it  was 
easy  to  stir  the  passions  of  the  populace  against 
an  Englishman.  Thompson's  life  was  thereafter 
often  endangered,  but  when  driven  out  of  one  city 
he  appeared  in  another,  with  the  unwelcome  mes- 
sage he  was  bravely  determined  to  deliver. 

This  was  the  condition  of  things  when  Mr. 
Whittier  was  entering  upon  his  work  as  an  oppo- 
nent of  slavery  and  of  the  Colonization  Society. 
In  1835,  his  native  town  sent  him  to  represent  her 
in  the  General  Court.  He  had  already  written 
and  published  in  the  "  Liberator  "  of  September 
13, 1834,  the  "  Stanzas  " l  beginning  with  the  line : 

1  This  poem,  originally  called  Stanzas,  was  afterward  en- 
titled Pollen,  and  in  the  latest  edition  of  Whittier's  collected 


142      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 
"  Our  fellow-countrymen  in  chains !  " 

It  happened  to  be  first  printed  just  one  week  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  Thompson  in  this  country.  It 
was  a  passionate  outburst  of  indignation  against 
the  system  of  slavery,  and  it  rang  at  once  through 
the  North.  It  was  recited  by  anti-slavery  orators 
with  great  effect  in  their  meetings,  and  the  school- 
boys found  ifc  a  piece  suitable  for  declamation. 
The  number  of  the  "  Liberator  "  in  which  this 
poem  originally  appeared  has  this  appreciative 
comment  upon  it  from  the  hand  of  Garrison :  — 

"  Our  gifted  brother  Whittier  has  again  seized 
the  great  trumpet  of  Liberty,  and  blown  a  blast 
that  shall  ring  from  Maine  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains." 

As  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  Massachu- 
setts, Mr.  Whittier  was  active  and  influential, 
though  not  a  debater.  He  took  especial  interest 
in  a  movement  to  abolish  the  death  penalty,  and 
secured  a  petition  of  sixty-seven  citizens  of  Haver- 
hill,  headed  by  his  own  name,  for  this  object. 
He  was  reflected  as  representative  from  Haver- 
hill  for  the  year  1836,  but  his  physician  assured 
him  it  would  be  unsafe  for  him  again  to  undertake 
the  work  that  had  seriously  injured  him  in  1835. 
Hon.  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.,  represented  Gloucester 
in  the  Massachusetts  legislature  at  the  time  when 
Mr.  Whittier  represented  Haverhill.  They  had 
rooms  together  for  a  time  at  a  boarding  place  in 
Franklin  Street,  by  the  Bulfinch  urn.  Their  rela- 

•works  is  named  Expostulation.  Neither  of  these  names  can 
be  regarded  as  adequate  for  such  a  noble  outburst  of  hot  indig- 
nation. 


MOBBING   OF  GARRISON  143 

tions  were  intimate  so  long  as  Rantoul  lived,  and 
how  his  memory  was  cherished  after  his  death  is 
shown  in  several  poems  in  which  he  is  directly  or 
indirectly  mentioned. 

It  was  while  he  was  in  attendance  upon  a  spe- 
cial session  of  the  legislature,  October  21,  183.5, 
that  Whittier  witnessed  the  Boston  mob,  led  by 
"  men  of  property  and  standing,"  which  broke  up  a 
meeting  of  the  Female  Anti-Slavery  Society,  and 
dragged  Garrison  in  the  street,  with  a  rope  about 
his  body.  Hearing  of  the  disturbance,  while  in 
his  seat  in  the  State  House,  and  knowing  that  his 
sister  Elizabeth  was  at  the  meeting,  he  hurried  to 
the  spot.  In  a  letter  written  on  the  occasion  of 
the  semi-centennial  commemoration  of  the  affair, 
in  1885,  he  says :  — 

"  I  found  the  street  thronged  and  noisy  with  tur- 
bulent respectability  and  unwashed  rascality.  I 
was  anxious  for  my  young  sister,  who  I  knew  was 
in  the  women's  anti-slavery  meeting  ;  but  I  heard 
that  the  ladies  had  all  left  and  were  safe.  The 
fury  of  the  mob  seemed  to  be  directed  against 
George  Thompson,  but  failing  to  find  him,  they 
seized  upon  Garrison.  I  heard  their  shout  of  ex- 
ultation and  caught  a  glimpse  of  their  victim  just 
as  he  was  rescued  and  driven  off  to  Leverett  Street 
jail.  Thither  Samuel  J.  May  and  myself  followed, 
and  visited  him  in  prison.  I  could  sympathize 
with  him,  for  only  a  short  time  before,  the  Concord 
mob,  which  could  not  get  hold  of  Thompson,  fell 
upon  me  with  stones  and  missiles,  and  my  escape 
with  nothing  worse  than  a  few  bruises  was  some- 
thing to  be  thankful  for.  The  rioters  had  just 


144      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

roughly  used  a  poor  traveling  Quaker  preacher, 
quietly  passing  through  the  town,  who  had  the 
misfortune  of  being  mistaken  for  myself.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  case  of  suffering  by  proxy  all 
around.  From  our  present  standpoint  we  can  pity 
and  forgive  the  actors  in  those  scenes." 

The  Concord  riot,  referred  to  by  Mr.  Whittier 
in  this  letter,  happened  September  4,  1835,  and 
the  circumstances  that  led  to  it  will  now  be  traced. 
An  anti-slavery  society  was  organized  in  Haverhill 
in  the  spring  of  1834,  and  Mr.  Whittier  acted  as 
its  corresponding  secretary.  The  speakers  from 
other  places  who  lectured  before  this  society  were 
welcome  guests  at  the  Whittier  homestead  in  East 
Haverhill.  On  the  21st  of  August,  1835,  George 
Thompson  came  to  Haverhill  to  rest  from  the  ex- 
ertions incident  to  a  series  of  mobs  through  which 
he  had  passed,  and  made  his  home  with  Whittier. 
He  delivered  a  lecture  in  Haverhill  which  was  well 
received.  In  a  diary  kept  by  Elizabeth  Whittier, 
under  date  24th  of  8th  month,  1835,  is  this  entry : 

"  The  three  past  days  have  been  full  of  incident 
and  excitement.  Oh,  we  have  been  too  proud  of 
our  country ;  we  have  been  flattered,  inordinately 
flattered,  till  like  the  self-glorying  Pharisee  we 
have  thanked  God  we  were  not  like  other  nations. 
America  is  working  everlasting  disgrace  for  her 
future  name.  The  shameful  record  must  be  written 
down,  that  in  this  land  of  Bibles  and  law  and 
learning  and  freedom,  a  minister  of  Christ,  —  a 
Paul  in  his  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  every  cause  of 
righteousness  and  truth,  —  a  stranger,  led  by  the 
holiest  impulses  of  humanity,  coming  among  us  to 


GEORGE   THOMPSON  AT  HAVERHILL    145 

proclaim  in  his  own  wonderful  and  fervid  eloquence 
the  eternal  principles  of  justice  to  mankind,  —  that 
such  a  man,  with  such  purposes,  was  slandered  by 
Americans,  hated  by  Americans,  and  mobbed  by 
Americans ;  that  in  Massachusetts  thousands  of 
dollars  were  offered  for  his  assassination !  Oh,  I 
am  sure  I  shall  never  be  proud  of  my  country.  I 
shall  much  sooner  be  ashamed  of  my  fatherland, 
while  it  is  thus  unchristianized." 

Three  days  afterward  there  is  a  record  in  the 
diary  that  George  Thompson  had  left  for  his  home 
"  day  before  yesterday."  It  appears  that  he  went 
to  Salem,  and  that  Mr.  Whittier  and  his  mother 
also  went  to  Salem,  to  attend  a  Quarterly  Meeting 
of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Among  Elizabeth's 
papers  is  found  a  note  hurriedly  written  by  her 
brother,  which  reads  as  follows :  — 

SALEM,  5th  day  afternoon, 

8th  mo.  27. 

I  write  by  our  good  friend,  Thomas  Spencer,  to 
request  thee  to  welcome  brother  Thompson  to  our 
house,  as  his  friends  are  somewhat  fearful  for  his 
personal  safety  at  this  time.  Mother  and  myself 
will  be  at  home  on  Seventh  day,  if  nothing  hap- 
pens. In  great  haste, 

J.  G.  WHITTIER. 

Thompson  will  remain  with  us  some  days  at 
Haverhill. 

But  Thompson  did  not  arrive  at  East  Haverhill 
on  Friday,  as  was  expected,  and  this  record  is  found 
in  Elizabeth's  diary :  — 


146      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

"  1th  day  eve.  Never  have  I  felt  so  deeply  the 
necessity  of  Christian  forbearance  and  long  suf- 
fering on  the  part  of  the  abolitionists  as  at  present. 
George  Thompson  was  to  have  been  in 
Haverhill,  on  his  way  to  New  Hampshire,  yesterday 
afternoon ;  but  he  has  not  come.  What  can  have 
detained  him  ?  I  have  watched  very  anxiously  for 
his  coming,  and  have  been  fearful  that  all  was  not 
well.  Heaven  grant  it  may  be,  and  I  trust  it  is. 
Sickness  or  something  of  less  importance  may  have 
kept  him.  I  wish  I  was  good  enough  to  pray  ac- 
ceptably for  his  and  all  our  dear  friends'  safety." 

Her  prayers  were  answered  promptly,  for  Thomp- 
son arrived  safely  on  the  evening  the  above  entry 
was  made  in  her  diary.  On  Monday,  August  31, 
she  writes :  — 

"  Our  friends,  George  Thompson  and  Samuel  J. 
May,  came  late  on  Seventh  day  eve,  and  their 
coming  relieved  us  of  much  anxiety.  Yesterday 
morning,  Greenleaf  left  here  in  company  with 
George  Thompson  on  a  short  tour  to  New  Hamp- 
shire. Yesterday  afternoon  S.  J.  May  occupied 
the  pulpit  of  N.  Gage.  He  had  come  to  Haverhill 
with  the  expectation  of  addressing  the  people  on 
the  subject  of  American  slavery,  on  last  evening, 
in  the  First  Parish  meeting-house.  But  for  reasons 
best  known  to  themselves  the  gentlemen  comprising 
the  committee  saw  fit  to  refuse  the  house,  and  the 
Christian  church  was  obtained ;  the  house  was  filled 
to  overflowing  ;  at  half  past  seven  the  lecturer  arose, 
and  in  his  peculiarly  winning  tones  commenced  an 
appeal  in  behalf  of  the  two  and  a  half  millions  of 
our  countrymen  who  are  in  slavery  in  our  land. 


A   HAVERHILL   MOB  147 

He  was  listened  to  with  almost  breathless  attention  ; 
the  interest  of  the  audience  was  so  intense  that  the 
noise  outside  the  house  had  not  been  noticed.  Most 
of  the  people  did  not  believe  —  how  could  they  ?  — 
that  there  were  those  among  us  sufficiently  misled 
to  do  what  has  scarcely  ever  been  done  in  our 
country,  —  violate  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  by 
a  reckless  and  outrageous  assault  upon  a  peaceable 
assemblage.  But  we  were  made  to  believe  it  when 
a  stone  was  thrown,  breaking  the  window,  and  scat- 
tering the  glass  among  the  startled  audience.  But 
all  were  soon  still,  and  listening  to  the  calm  tones 
of  the  speaker.  I  only  felt  fear  for  the  speaker, 
as  his  figure  was  visible  on  the  outside,  and  I  was 
not  mistaken,  for  the  next  moment  a  heavy  missile 
was  thrown  forcibly  against  the  window  of  the 
pulpit.  The  speaker  paused  an  instant,  and  then 
endeavored  to  proceed.  But  another  heavy  stone 
thrown  among  the  crowd  drove  most  of  the  audience 
from  their  seats,  and  a  fourth  and  heavier  stone 
from  without  completed  the  scene  of  confusion. 
The  lecturer  was  anxious  to  proceed,  but  expressed 
his  willingness  to  be  guided  by  the  advice  of  his 
friends.  Rev.  E.  N.  Harris  arose,  and  remarked 
that  the  unlawful  proceedings  had  so  disturbed  the 
meeting  that  it  would  be  useless  for  his  brother 
May  to  attempt  to  go  on  with  his  remarks.  Yield- 
ing to  the  advice  of  his  friend,  and  to  the  dictate 
of  prudence,  the  speaker  closed  his  notes,  and  the 
crowd  who  were  hurrying  towards  the  door  paused 
as  the  blessing  of  the  God  of  all  peace  was  invoked 
by  the  outraged  advocate  of  human  rights." 

Elizabeth  Whittier  does   not  tell  to   her  diary 


148      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

how  she  and  her  friend,  Harriet  Minot,  daughter 
of  Judge  Minot,  took  the  hands  of  Mr.  May,  one 
on  each  side,  and  pushed  their  way  through  the 
mob  of  their  townsmen,  and,  though  rudely 
treated,  were  not  injured.  Neither  does  she  tell 
the  most  shameful  part  of  the  story.  A  heavily 
loaded  cannon  had  been  dragged  near  the 
church,  and  at  the  same  time  the  wooden  steps 
at  the  doors  had  been  pulled  away.  The  plan 
of  the  miscreants  was  to  break  the  windows  and 
discharge  the  cannon,  thus  causing  a  rush  to  the 
doors,  and,  the  steps  being  removed,  the  audi- 
ence would  have  been  precipitated  several  feet ; 
limbs  would  have  been  broken,  and  perhaps 
lives  lost  in  the  panic.  For  some  reason,  the  gun 
was  not  fired,  and  the  brief  pause  for  the  benedic- 
tion gave  time  to  discover  that  the  steps  were  re- 
moved and  to  replace  them.  Miss  Whittier  and 
Miss  Minot  were  well  known  to  the  citizens  of 
Haverhill,  and  that  Mr.  May  was  not  roughly 
handled  when  he  came  out  of  the  church  was  due 
to  their  protection.  The  mob  was  composed  of 
about  two  hundred  men  and  boys.  It  was  proba- 
bly known  in  the  town  that  Thompson  arrived  on 
Saturday,  and  it  was  supposed  he  was  at  this 
meeting.  Perhaps  the  disturbance  grew  out  of 
this  misunderstanding,  for  there  was  a  bitter  feel- 
ing against  the  famous  English  orator,  which  was 
just  then  working  like  leaven  throughout  New 
England. 

Whittier  and  Thompson,  entirely  unconscious 
of  the  disturbance  they  left  behind  them,  were 
on  their  way  to  meet  a  more  violent  mob.  The 


THE  CONCORD  RIOT  149 

object  of  their  journey  was  to  visit  Nathaniel  P. 
Kogers,  at  Plymouth,  N.  H.  They  arrived  on 
Monday,  and  Thompson  delivered  three  lectures  in 
the  place,  which  were  well  received.  On  their  way 
to  Plymouth,  they  had  stopped  for  the  night  at 
Concord,  at  the  house  of  George  Kent,  who  was  a 
brother-in-law  of  Rogers.  Kent  made  preparations 
during  their  absence  for  an  anti-slavery  meeting,  to 
be  held  in  Concord  upon  their  return.  He  caused 
handbills  to  be  circulated,  announcing  a  meeting  at 
the  court  house,  Friday  evening,  September  4,  at 
which  "  the  principles,  views,  and  operations  of  the 
abolitionists  would  be  explained,  and  questions 
answered,  by  George  Thompson  and  John  G. 
Whittier."  Nearly  all  his  life  Mr.  Whittier 
avoided  public  speaking,  but  in  those  days  he 
occasionally  addressed  anti- slavery  meetings. 
Kent's  handbill  made  a  great  stir.  At  a  politi- 
cal meeting  held  Thursday  evening,  a  protest  was 
made  against  allowing  the  abolitionists  a  hearing 
in  Concord.  The  selectmen  warned  those  who 
were  active  in  the  matter  that  it  would  be  unsafe 
to  hold  the  proposed  meeting,  but  they  persisted. 
As  the  hour  set  for  the  meeting  approached,  a 
crowd,  evidently  bent  on  mischief,  filled  the  street 
in  front  of  the  court  house,  and  the  selectmen 
ordered  that  the  doors  should  not  be  opened. 
Thereupon  the  multitude,  determined  that  "  the 
incendiary  Thompson  "  should  not  escape  them, 
began  the  search  for  him,  and  the  cry  was 
raised,  "  To  George  Kent's,  and  the  wine  in  his 
cellar."  On  their  way  they  met  Whittier,  who 
was  with  J.  H.  Kimball,  editor  of  the  "  Herald." 


150      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

His  Quaker  coat  did  not  prevent  the  mob  from 
supposing  lie  was  Thompson.  They  began  to  pelt 
him  with  rotten  eggs,1  with  mud  and  stones,  al- 
though Kimball  assured  them  he  was  not  the  man 
they  sought.  He  received  only  slight  injuries, 
for  though  the  missiles  fell  around  them  and  upon 
them,  no  stone  happened  to  touch  their  heads. 
They  were  somewhat  lamed  by  those  which  struck 
them  elsewhere,  and  were  covered  with  the  dirt  of 
the  street  which  had  been  cast  at  them.  In 
speaking  of  it  in  later  years,  Mr.  Whittier  said 
he  could  remember  the  sound  of  the  stones  that 
missed  their  aim  and  struck  the  wooden  fences  by 
their  side,  and  that  it  made  him  realize  how 
St.  Paul  felt  when  he  was  thrice  stoned.  Mr. 
William  A.  Kent,  a  brother  of  George  Kent,  saw 
them  passing  his  house,  while  thus  beset,  and 
though  not  an  abolitionist,  he  opened  his  door  to 
them,  and  they  thankfully  sprang  up  the  steps 
three  at  a  time.  As  soon  as  they  were  safely  in- 
side, the  crowd,  who  were  disposed  to  enter  and 
pull  them  out,  were  bravely  met  by  Mr.  Kent,  who 
told  them  that  if  they  came  in  it  would  be  over 
his  dead  body.  The  crowd  were  soon  after  con- 
vinced, by  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas,  a  Unitarian  clergy- 
man (whose  wife  was  a  niece  of  N.  P.  Rogers), 
that  they  had  mistaken  their  man,  and  passed  on 

1  The  coat  Mr.  Whittier  wore  on  this  occasion  was  so  soiled  by 
rotten  eggs  that  it  could  never  be  cleansed.  It  was  kept  as  a 
relic  until  after  the  war,  when  boxes  of  clothing  were  sent  from 
Amesbury  to  the  needy  freedmen.  Mr.  Whittier  contributed  the 
old  coat,  among  other  things,  and  at  least  one  Southern  negro 
derived  a  benefit  from  the  little  affair  that  happened  in  New 
Hampshire  thirty  years  earlier. 


THE   CONCORD  RIOT  151 

to  George  Kent's,  where  a  small  company  of  anti- 
slavery  people  had  assembled  to  pay  their  respects 
to  the  famous  English  orator,  and  to  the  poet,  his 
companion.  Among  these  were  two  nieces  of 
Daniel  Webster,  daughters  of  his  brother  Eze- 
kiel.  When  the  mob  reached  the  house,  Thomp- 
son had  left  it  by  a  back  street,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Kent.  A  demand  was  made  that  Thompson 
be  sent  out  to  them,  which  was  answered  with  the 
assurance  that  he  had  gone,  and  that  there  were 
only  ladies  in  the  house.  General  Davis  then  ad- 
dressed the  crowd,  and  told  them  they  had  done 
all  they  came  for  ;  they  had  prevented  Thompson 
from  speaking,  and  he  advised  them  to  go  borne. 
They  went  away,  but  not  homeward.  After  visit- 
ing the  liquor  saloons,  they  constructed  an  effigy, 
labeled  it  "  George  Thompson,"  and  burned  it  in 
the  State  House  park.  Then  they  indulged  in 
fireworks,  and  brought  out  a  cannon  to  celebrate 
their  victory. 

In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Whittier,  hearing  the 
guns,  and  being  anxious  for  the  safety  of  his 
friends,  changed  his  Quaker  hat  for  that  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Thomas,  and,  thus  disguised,  ventured  again 
into  the  street,  passed  through  the  mob,  which  was 
frenzied  with  drink,  and  soon  found  Mr.  Thompson, 
who  had  also  returned  to  George  Kent's.  The  mob 
came  back  from  the  State  House  to  Mr,  George 
Kent's,  and  kept  up  a  disturbance  from  two  o'clock 
to  daybreak,  having  a  suspicion  that  Thompson 
had  returned.  In  the  early  morning,  while  the 
noisy  multitude  were  shouting  and  firing  guns 
about  the  house,  an  escape  was  effected.  Their 


152      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

horse  was  harnessed  and  brought  to  a  side  door. 
When  Whittier,  Thompson,  and  Rev.  Mr0  Putnam, 
of  Dunbarton,  were  in  the  carriage,  the  gate  was 
suddenly  opened,  and  the  horse  was  driven  at  a 
gallop  through  a  mob  too  surprised  to  stop  the  car- 
riage. They  were  soon  out  of  hearing  of  the  yells 
and  gunshots  of  the  maddened  crowd.  They  left 
Concord  by  the  way  of  the  Hookset  bridge,  all  other 
avenues  being  guarded,  and  hastened  back  towards 
Haverhill.  Stopping  at  an  inn,  for  breakfast,  they 
found  a  little  knot  of  rough  men  to  whom  the  land- 
lord was  telling  extravagant  stories  of  the  brave 
times  at  Haverhill,  the  last  Sunday  night,  when 
George  Thompson,  the  English  incendiary,  and  a 
fanatical  Quaker  named  Whittier,  were  so  roughly 
handled  that  they  could  not  soon  address  another 
abolition  meeting.  They  had  escaped  into  New 
Hampshire,  and  he  showed  a  printed  notice  asking 
all  good  citizens  to  aid  in  securing  Thompson,  and 
giving  him  his  just  deserts.  Whittier  inquired 
how  the  rascal  was  to  be  recognized,  and  was  an- 
swered, "  Easily  enough,  he  is  a  tonguey  fellow." 
As  they  were  about  to  leave,  being  already  in  the 
carriage,  Whittier  said  to  the  landlord,  "  This  is 
George  Thompson,  and  my  name  is  Whittier." 
The  man  stared  with  open  mouth  until  they  were 
out  of  sight.  Brief  accounts  of  the  Concord  mob . 
were  given  to  the  press  by  both  Whittier  and 
Thompson,  soon  after  the  occurrence.  They  both 
make  light  of  the  affair,  and  mention  but  few  of 
the  incidents  that  have  since  been  gathered  from 
conversations  with  Mr.  Whittier  and  from  other 
sources.  Thompson  was  so  many  times  in  jeopardy 


PERILS  AMONG  FALSE  BRETHREN    153 

in  1835,  and  had  escaped  unhurt  so  often  from  the 
hands  of  previous  mobs,  that  the  Concord  violence 
made  little  impression  upon  him.  Nearly  fifty 
years  after  the  event,  Mr.  Whittier  met  in  Portland 
a  man  who  confessed  that  he  was  one  of  the  mob. 
Whittier  asked  what  would  have  been  done  to 
Thompson  and  himself,  if  they  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  crowd,  and  the  man  replied  that  prep- 
arations had  been  made  to  blacken  their  faces  so 
that  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  remove  the 
coloring  matter.  Tar  and  feathers  were  also  in 
readiness.  Thompson  returned  with  Whittier  to 
East  Haverhill,  and  spent  a  week  at  the  old  home- 
stead, Elizabeth's  talks  with  her  diary  are  sus- 
pended during  these  days,  but  after  their  guest  has 
gone  she  has  time  to  write  again,  and  says  :  — 

"  It  must  have  been  a  noble  sight !  Five  hundred 
patriotic  citizens  of  New  Hampshire,  marching 
with  cursing  and  shouting  to  the  rescue  of  the 
Constitution !  Even  the  Quaker  coat  of  J.  G.  W. 
does  not  quite  defend  him  from  the  chivalry  of  the 
brave  band !  It  was  a  manifestation  of  extraor- 
dinary courage  on  the  part  of  the  belligerents  to 
venture  an  attack  on  two  Quaker  gentlemen,  walk- 
ing soberly  and  peaceably  under  their  broadbrims. 
Was  there  not  a  manifestation  of  Satanic  influence 
in  the  rush  of  the  crowd  to  George  Kent's  with  the 
evident  purpose  of  destruction  to  the  beautiful  man- 
sion of  an  intelligent  Christian,  and  kind-hearted 
fellow-citizen  ?  .  .  .  On  First  day  evening,  a 
prayer  meeting  was  holden  in  our  little  school- 
house,  and  George  Thompson,  the  man  who  passed 
triumphant  and  applauded  through  all  the  great 


154      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

cities  of  England  and  Scotland,  as  the  eloquent 
pleader  for  the  poor  down-trodden  slaves  of  the 
British  colonies,  whose  appeals  have  been  listened 
to  and  admired  by  immense  audiences,  was  present, 
and  at  the  earnest  request  of  Rev.  J.  R.  Gushing 
briefly  addressed  the  meeting,  before  closing  it 
with  a  truly  fervid  and  Christian  prayer.  .  .  . 
George  Thompson  left  us  on  Second  day  morning, 
and  I  was  very,  very  sorry  to  have  him  go.  I  had 
begun  to  think  of  him  not  with  the  reverence  and 
awe  I  used  to  connect  with  the  name  of  George 
Thompson,  the  eloquent  English  orator,  but  quite  as 
a  dear  friend.  It  is  altogether  too  high,  too  happy 
a  station.  I  am  not  worthy  to  be  Ms  friend,  but  I 
am  proud  that  I  am  privileged  to  think  of  him  as 
my  friend.  .  .  .  As  an  appendix  to  our  loss  of 
Second  day,  Greenleaf  left  us  on  Third  day,  to 
recommence  his  legislative  duties  at  Boston0" 

One  other  mob  Mr.  Whittier  encountered  in 
these  times,  and  the  story  of  it  is  as  follows :  An 
Essex  County  anti-slavery  convention  was  to  be 
held  in  Newburyport,  in  1837,  but  no  hall  or  church 
could  be  obtained,  and  so  the  meeting  was  held 
in  the  garden  of  Mrs.  Charles  Butler,  on  Brown 
Square.  A  rough  crowd  from  the  wharves,  led 
by  citizens  who  considered  themselves  respectable, 
broke  up  the  meeting  by  beating  upon  tin  pans, 
blowing  fish-horns,  and  howling.  They  also  as- 
saulted some  of  the  speakers,  causing  little  injury, 
however,  except  to  clothing.  Henry  B.  Stanton, 
who  was  one  of  the  speakers,  had  the  buttons  cut 
from  his  coat.  Mr.  Whittier  relates  this  incident 
of  the  affair :  — 


ASSAILED  AT  NEWBURYPORT         155 

"  As  we  were  being  assailed  with  decayed  eggs, 
sticks,  and  light  missiles,  I  thought  discretion  the 
better  part  of  valor,  and  hurried  away  at  what  my 
friend  N.  P.  Rogers  called  '  an  undignified  trot,' 
in  company  with  an  aged  Orthodox  minister,  one 
of  the  few  who  had  the  moral  courage  to  attend 
an  anti-slavery  meeting  in  those  days,  and  who 
was  settled  in  a  neighboring  town.  As  soon  as  we 
stopped  to  recover  breath,  I  said  to  him :  '  I  am 
surprised  that  we  should  be  disturbed  in  a  quiet, 
Puritan  city  like  Newburyport.  I  've  lived  near 
it  for  years,  and  thought  it  was  a  pious  city.' 
Laying  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  the  clergyman 
said,  '  Young  man,  when  you  are  as  old  as  I  am 
you  will  understand  that  it  is  easier  to  be  pious 
than  it  is  to  be  good.' " 

In  these  New  England  mobs  Mr.  Whittier  has 
said  he  never  apprehended  serious  danger  to  life 
or  limb,  and  indeed  he  was  better  prepared  for 
such  danger  than  for  anything  like  personal  indig- 
nity. The  thought  of  such  indignities  affected 
him  more  than  even  the  dread  of  death.  In 
an  article  published  in  the  "Atlantic  Monthly," 
February,  1874,  he  says :  — 

"I  had  read  John  TrumbulFs  description  of 
the  tarring  and  feathering  of  his  hero,  McFin- 
gal,  when,  after  the  application  of  the  melted  tar, 
the  feather-bed  was  ripped  open  and  shaken  over 
him,  until 

*  Not  Maia's  son,  with  wings  for  ears, 
Such  plumes  about  his  visage  wears, 
Nor  Milton's  six- winged  angel  gathers 
Such  superfluity  of  feathers ; ' 


156      ENLISTMENT  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

and  I  confess  I  was  quite  unwilling  to  undergo  a 
martyrdom  which  my  best  friends  could  scarcely 
refrain  from  laughing  at." 

In  a  letter  to  his  friend  Thayer,  who  was  then 
editing  the  "  Commercial  Herald  "  in  Philadelphia, 
under  date  Haverhill,  29th  of  llth  mo.,  1835,  Mr. 
Whittier  writes  that  he  is  busy  with  farm  work, 
and  adds :  "  Anti-slavery  is  going  on  well  in  spite 
of  mobs,  Andover  Seminary,  and  rum.  This  town 
has  gone  for  Jackson,  and  our  senators  have  got  in 
(four  of  them)  with  the  skin  of  their  teeth.  The 
State  is  almost  Van  Burenized." 

Early  in  1836,  Mr.  Thayer  urged  him  to  come 
to  Philadelphia,  to  engage  in  a  newspaper  enter- 
prise with  him.  He  replied  from  the  old  home- 
stead in  Haverhill  (where  he  appears  to  have  been 
snowbound  again),  under  date  of  16th  of  2d  mo., 
1836:  — 

"  Blocked  up  by  a  four-feet  snow  I  have  had  no 
means  of  sending  to  the  village.  ...  I  must  de- 
cline thy  proposal ;  my  health  recently  has  been 
uncertain,  and  I  am  just  getting  over  an  attack 
of  my  old  complaint,  —  palpitation  of  the  heart. 
I  should  not  dare  to  engage  in  such  an  undertaking 
at  present.  I  nevertheless  have  wished  a  hundred 
times  that  we  could  be  together  as  formerly,  as  we 
used  to  agree  so  perfectly  on  most  points." 

During  part  of  the  year  1836,  Mr.  Whittier 
was  editing  the  Haverhill  "  Gazette,"  while  man* 
aging  his  farm.  Early  in  1837,  he  had  again  a  call 
to  Philadelphia,  this  time  to  edit  an  anti-slavery 
paper.  At  about  the  same  time  he  had  a  call  to 
Portland.  The  following  paragraphs  from  a  letter 


CALLED   TO  PHILADELPHIA  157 

to  Mr.  Thayer  were  written  while  undecided.  He 
writes  from  Amesbury,  31st  of  3d  mo.,  1837  :  — 

"  I  have  a  wish  on  many  accounts  to  live  in  your 
city ;  but  the  Portland  folks  are  very  desirous  of 
getting  me  to  go  '  Down  East.'  They  have  of- 
fered me  $1200  per  annum.  The  climate  would 
not,  however,  suit  me  so  well  as  yours,  and,  to  tell 
the  truth,  there  is  hardly  field  enough  for  doing  a 
great  deal  of  good  in  Maine,  at  present.  Our 
friends  in  Boston  are  fully  persuaded  that  the 
grand  battle  is  now  to  be  fought  in  Pennsylvania, 
between  mobocracy  (excited  by  the  slaveholding 
influence  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  by  the 
President's  outrageous  and  abominable  sentiments 
expressed  in  his  inaugural  message)  and  the 
friends  of  liberty.  One  word,  sub  rosa :  If  Rit- 
ner  can  be  sustained  in  his  own  State,  the  entire 
North,  save  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  would  go 
for  him  for  the  Presidency.  I  have  not  felt  at 
liberty  to  go  to  Portland  until  I  have  heard  from 
Philadelphia.  On  the  receipt  of  a  letter  I  shall  be 
able  to  decide  immediately." 

The  decision  arrived  at,  some  months  later,  was 
in  favor  of  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER  V. 

INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS. 

1836-1838. 

IN  April,  1836,  the  Haverhill  farm,  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-eight  acres,  was  sold  to  Aaron 
Chase,  and  a  cottage  in  the  village  of  Amesbury 
was  bought  a  few  weeks  afterward.  This  one-story 
cottage,  which  was  enlarged  and  remodeled  at 
various  times,  was  the  poet's  home  until  his  death, 
a  period  of  a  little  more  than  fifty-six  years.  The 
farm  was  sold  for  $3000,  and  the  house  and  lot 
in  Amesbury  cost  $1200.  Two  reasons  induced 
the  selling  of  the  farm  and  the  removal  to  Ames- 
bury.  Mr.  Whittier  was  so  fully  occupied  with 
his  literary  and  reform  work,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  broken  in  health,  that  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  give  up  the  care  of  a  difficult  farm ;  more- 
over, there  was  no  Friends'  meeting  nearer  than 
Amesbury,  and  his  mother  and  sister  found  it  be- 
yond their  strength  to  attend  meetings  regularly 
at  such  a  distance.  When  the  farm  was  sold,  the 
horse  was  given  up,  and  the  poet  never  afterward 
owned  one.  The  new  home  was  located  nearly 
opposite  the  Friends'  meeting-house.  The  present 
meeting-house,  built  more  than  forty  years  ago, 
upon  plans  made  by  Mr.  Whittier,  is  not  far  dis- 
tant on  the  same  street. 


The  Ames  bury  Home 


THE  AMESBURY  COTTAGE  159 

Three  successive  meeting-houses  have  been  built 
by  the  Friends  in  Amesbury  during  the  past  two 
hundred  years,  all  of  them  on  Friend  Street,  upon 
which  Mr.  Whittier's  house  stands.  In  the  oldest 
one,  Thomas  Story,  one  of  William  Penn's  coun- 
cilors of  state,  held  forth  in  1704,  when  he  de- 
fended his  faith  in  a  notable  debate.  He  was  the 
first  man  to  express  a  doubt  about  the  world  being 
made  in  six  literal  days,  and  the  first  to  suggest 
that  the  days  alluded  to  in  the  Scripture  account 
of  the  creation  were  ages  in  length.  The  present 
edifice  was  erected  in  1851,  and  the  details  of  its, 
construction  were  left  by  the  society  to  the  care 
of  Mr.  Whittier.  But  as  the  poet  had  at  that 
time  mixed  with  the  world's  people  more  than  most 
of  his  brethren,  there  was  some  fear  among  the 
more  conservative  that  he  would  provide  too  many 
modern  comforts  for  the  worshipers  —  perhaps 
even  give  them  a  steeple !  Mistrusting  this,  and 
to  set  their  hearts  at  rest,  he  wisely  employed  as 
builders  three  venerable  carpenters,  one  of  whom 
was  a  Quaker  minister,  and  the  other  two  elders 
of  the  society.  The  result  of  their  joint  labors 
was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  a  perfectly 
orthodox  Quaker  meeting-house,  without  steeple  or 
filigree  work  of  any  kind,1  but  very  neat  and  com- 
fortable. 

1  Several  years  ago  a  worthy  missionary,  anxious  to  reform  a 
pagan  neighborhood  in  a  town  just  over  the  New  Hampshire 
border,  called  upon  Mr.  Whittier  for  a  subscription.  "  Does  thee 
propose  to  put  a  steeple  on  thy  church  ?  "  he  inquired.  "  Yes, 
sir."  "  Well,  I  am  glad  thee  has  undertaken  to  christianize  that 
neighborhood,  and  am  willing  to  help  thee.  But  I  am  sorry 
about  the  steeple.  I  will  subscribe,  however,  on  condition  that 
no  part  of  my  money  goes  into  that  extravagance." 


160  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

The  lot  upon  which  the  Amesbury  cottage  was 
built  afforded  a  garden  that  every  year  produced 
a  great  variety  of  fruits  and  vegetables.  Mr. 
Whittier  gave  much  attention  to  it,  enjoying  the 
work  as  he  could  not  enjoy  the  heavier  labor  on 
his  ancestral  acres.  About  forty  years  ago,  the 
eastern  end  of  the  cottage  was  made  two  stories  in 
height,  and  at  the  southeastern  corner  an  addition 
was  made  of  the  same  height.  The  lower  room 
in  the  addition  was  fitted  up  for  a  study,  and  the 
upper  room,  after  the  death  of  his  sister  Elizabeth, 
in  1864,  became  Mr.  Whittier's  chamber.  The 
study  was  always  known  as  the  "garden  room." 
Mr.  Whittier  objected  to  the  use  of  the  word 
"  study,"  or  "  library,"  for  such  an  unpretentious 
literary  workshop.  It  was  warmed  by  a  Franklin 
stove.  In  the  recess  on  one  side  of  the  chimney 
were  book-shelves,  and  in  the  corresponding  recess 
on  the  other  side  was  placed  his  writing-desk. 

The  book-shelves  held  only  a  small  part  of  Mr. 
Whittier's  constantly  increasing  library,  which 
overflowed  into  nearly  all  the  rooms.  The  north- 
ern window,  next  the  desk,  was  in  a  door  opening 
upon  a  little  veranda,  and  gave  a  view  of  the 
street  and  the  southern  slope  of  Po  Hill,  which  is 
close  at  hand.  This  pleasant  little  room  natu- 
rally became  the  sitting-room  of  the  family.  For 
Mr.  Whittier  loved  domesticity,  and  could  read 
and  write  without  disturbance  in  the  midst  of 
household  affairs.  It  is  the  room  held  in  most 
loving  remembrance  by  the  friends  and  visitors  of 
the  poet.  In  it  he  did  his  best  work.  Here 
"  Snow-Bound "  was  written,  and  many  of  his 


THE  GARDEN  ROOM  161 

most  popular  poems.  The  western  end  of  the 
house  remained  one  story  in  height  until  the  year 
1884,  when  another  story  was  added,  giving  the 
house  its  present  appearance.  In  the  midst  of  all 
'the  alterations  here  described,  the  little  parlor,  at 
the  northwestern  corner  of  the  original  cottage, 
has  remained  unchanged.  This  room  also  has  its 
open  fireplace. 

The  ancient  towns  of  Amesbury  and  Salisbury, 
until  within  a  few  years,  when  they  were  consol- 
idated, were  divided  by  the  Powow  River,  and  the 
principal  village  of  each  town  was  located  at  the 
falls  in  this  rapid  stream.  To  a  stranger  they 
seemed  but  a  single  village,  the  river  for  most 
of  its  course  being  entirely  hidden  by  the  wide 
arches  which  span  it  to  bear  up  the  main  street, 
and  by  the  factories  on  each  side  of  the  stream. 
The  part  which  is  thus  concealed  is  a  fall  of 
about  eighty  feet  over  jagged  ledges,  and  here  the 
power  for  the  mills  is  obtained.  In  a  letter  to  a 
friend  who  suggested  that  he  celebrate  Po  Hill,  the 
picturesque  eminence  overlooking  his  Amesbury 
residence  (as  Job's  Hill  overlooks  his  birthplace), 
he  says  :  "  I  quite  agree  with  thee  that  Po  Hill 
is  well  worthy  of  being  celebrated  in  song.  I 
have  mentioned  it  in  my  poem,  '  Abram  Morri- 
son,' and  in  the  prelude  to  '  Miriam.'  It  is  also 
referred  to  in  '  Cobbler  Keezar's  Vision,'  in  which 
the  swift  Powow  stream  is  described  as  it  appeared 
to  the  early  settlers,  coming  down  from  the  south 
side  of  the  hill  in  a  series  of  cascades,  the  finest  of 
which  are  now  hidden  by  the  mills,  or  arched 
over  by  the  main  street  of  busy  Amesbury  :  — 


162  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

"  Woodsy  and  wild  and  lonesome, 

The  swift  stream  wound  away, 

Through  birches  and  scarlet  maples, 

Flashing  in  foam  and  spray,  — 

"  Down  on  the  sharp-horned  ledges 

Plunging  in  steep  cascade, 
Tossing  its  white-maned  waters 
Against  the  hemlock's  shade." 

The  family  removed  from  Haverhill  to  Ames- 
bury  on  the  6th  of  July,  1836.  Seven  weeks 
after,  Elizabeth  writes  in  her  diary  :  — 

"  So  now  we  are  here  at  Amesbury,  and  must 
henceforth  call  it  home.  How  strange !  The 
evening  I  left  our  home  at  [East]  Haverhill 
there  was  quite  too  much  confusion  to  allow  us  to 
think.  I  spent  a  fortnight  with  sister  Mary  at 
Haverhill,  and  on  our  way  to  Amesbury  we  rode 
up  to  the  old  gateway  which  always  before  had 
worn  the  cheerful  look  of  home.  There  was  no- 
thing there  to  welcome  us,  save  my  own  poor  cat  — 
and  she  was  right  glad.  ...  I  have  been  here 
now  five  weeks,  and  save  my  brothers  and  sister 
have  seen  but  five  of  my  Haverhill  friends,  and  cer- 
tainly these  few  seemed  dearer  than  ever.  I  won- 
der if  I  shall  ever  love  Amesbury  or  its  people  ! 
I  shall  when  I  forget  the  dear  ones  and  things  at 
Haverhill,  perhaps.  I  know  scarce  any  of  the  abo- 
lition people  here,  but  expect  to  like  them  all  —  or 
at  least  their  abolition." 

She  was  soon  after  elected  president  of  the  Wo- 
men's Anti-Slavery  Society  of  Amesbury. 

In  bringing  into  one  chapter  the  introduction 
of  Whittier  to  the  work  which  was  so  strongly 
to  affect  his  nature  and  his  occupation  we  have 


LETTERS   TO  MR.  HARRIMAN          163 

anticipated  the  narrative,  and  now  we  partially  re- 
trace our  steps  to  speak  of  his  relations  to  political 
parties  after  leaving  Hartford.  Mr.  Whittier's  edi- 
torship of  political  papers  in  Boston  and  Hartford 
gave  him  a  taste  for  political  life  which  he  enjoyed, 
and  woke  an  ambition  to  be  serviceable  to  his  State 
and  the  nation,  not  only  in  moulding  the  policy  of 
his  party  so  as  to  aid  the  reforms  he  favored,  but 
in  selecting  the  men  who  were  to  carry  its  princi- 
ples into  effect.  The  following  notes  to  Mr.  Har- 
riman,  editor  of  the  Haverhill  "  Iris,"  indicate  how 
eagerly  he  followed  public  events  from  the  seclusion 
of  his  farm. 

EAST  PARISH,  1831. 

I  have  been  embargoed  for  the  past  three  weeks, 
unable  to  stir;  and  for  a  week  past  unable  to 
see,  the  same  persistent  influenza  having  finally 
taken  possession  of  my  eyes.  I  send  you  something 
which  I  scrawled  yesterday  with  a  bandaged  eye. 
Try  to  set  it  up  correctly,  for  't  is  horribly  written. 
If  you  could  notice  my  leaving  the  paper  at  Hart- 
ford, and  mention  at  the  same  time  that  I  was  for 
some  time  editor  of  the  "  Essex  Gazette,"  and  that 
had  I  remained  so  I  should  have  warmly  advo- 
cated the  cause  of  Mr.  Gushing,  it  might  do  good 
at  this  time.  But  say  nothing  disparagingly  of 
Mr.  Thayer.  He  is  on  the  wrong  side,  but  he  does 
pretty  well  with  a  bad  cause.  Did  you  ever  read 
Burke's  speeches  and  writings  ?  If  not,  read  them 
attentively.  They  will  prove  valuable  to  you,  as 
they  have  to  me. 


164  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

EAST  PARISH,  2d  of  2d  mo.,  1832. 

I  am  starving  for  newspapers ;  I  now  and  then 
get  one  from  Boston  and  Washington,  but  not 
until  they  are  gray-headed  with  age.  Could  you 
send  me  a  lot  of  papers  of  any  kind  ?  Cushing's 
speech  is  excellent,  admirably  calculated  for  the 
Lowell  meridian.  If  he  should  be  nominated,  he 
would  get  it  next  trial.  I  don't  like,  however, 
what  he  says  of  General  Jackson. 

Have  you  Mr.  Choate's  speech  on  the  tariff, 
made  last  session  ?  I  have  never  seen  it.  I  see 
that  he  has  lately  made  a  speech  on  Verplanck's 
bill,  in  which  he  unequivocally  admits  the  necessity 
of  reducing  the  revenue  to  fifteen  millions.  You 
mention  a  rumor  about  Clay  and  Webster.  I 
trust  that  Mr.  Webster  will  beware  how  he  lends 
himself  to  Jacksonism,  and  that  Mr.  Clay  will 
hold  aloof  from  Nullification.  The  one  is  Scylla, 
the  other  Charybdis.  But  I  do  hope  that  Mr.  Clay 
will  oppose  the  placing  of  the  whole  military 
force  of  the  United  States  in  the  hands  of  General 
Jackson.  I  would  as  soon  trust  it  in  the  hands  of 
the  devil.  To  be  consistent  he  must  do  so.  Both 
Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Calhoun  denounced  the  lawless- 
conduct  of  the  military  chieftain  in  Pensacola,  and 
in  the  Seminole  war. 

1832. ' 

There  is  no  other  way  but  to  go  right  ahead  with 
Cushing.  The  other  party  hold  a  sort  of  conven- 
tion to-day,  I  understand.  But  whatever  they  may 
offer,  beware  of  them. 

I  have  got  the  rheumatism  to  pay  for  riding  in 
the  teeth  of  the  northwest  wind  from  Newburyport. 


BELIEF  IN  PARTIES  165 

To  the  end  of  his  life  he  cherished  all  the  privi- 
leges of  citizenship,  and,  believing  in  parties, 
abandoned  no  political  organization  so  long  as  he 
saw  a  chance  of  keeping  it  engaged  in  the  re- 
forms upon  which  he  set  his  heart.  Beginning  his 
political  life  as  a  partisan  of  Clay,  he  did  not  give 
him  up  until  he  saw  it  was  useless  to  expect  the 
great  Kentuckian  to  come  out  as  the  champion  of 
freedom.  He  stood  by  other  political  friends  with 
the  same  steadfastness,  even  when  he  had  much  to 
criticise  in  their  conduct,  and  he  never  shirked  the 
duty  of  criticising.1  Nothing  but  the  delicacy  of 
his  health,  at  critical  times,  prevented  his  being  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  important  places  when  a 
nomination  was  equivalent  to  an  election,  in  the 
early  part  of  his  career.  In  a  letter  never  before 
published,  dated  Haverhill,  8th  mo.,  1832,  to  an 
early  and  valued  friend  in  Cincinnati,  he  wrote :  — 

"  Six  months  ago  I  really  considered  myself  a 
citizen  of  Cincinnati.  I  had  determined  upon 
going  to  the  West.  I  left  Hartford  with  regret, 

1  "  His  natural  interest  in  affairs,  and  strong  love  of  humanity, 
made  him  a  willing  and  active  worker  in  the  field  of  politics  and 
reform.  For  he  was  by  instinct  a  political  as  well  as  a  moral 
reformer,  and  dearly  loved  the  conflict  of  ballots.  He  often  gave 
expression  to  his  views  of  public  policy  in  the  newspapers,  in 
later  life,  and  his  opinions  on  political  measures  carried  weight 
with  leaders  of  national  repute.  His  interest  in  party  success 
sometimes  brought  him  to  the  border  line  of  expediency,  jarring 
upon  the  uncompromising  notions  of  his  non-voting  abolition 
friends.  It  was  hard  for  him  to  abandon  the  Whig  party,  and 
impossible  to  cut  loose  from  the  Republican,  but  his  political  sa- 
gacity and  judgment  were  maintained.  While  advocating  the 
reelection  of  Harrison  in  1892,  he  foresaw  and  prophesied  the 
success  of  Cleveland."  —  W.  L.  Garrison  in  Brooklyn  Address, 
December  17,  1892. 


166  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

for  I  had  formed  acquaintances  there  and  estab- 
lished friendships  which  had  become,  as  it  were,  a 
part  of  my  being.  I  returned  to  Haverhill,  and 
started  for  the  South  the  first  of  December  [1831]. 
Being  a  member  of  the  National  Republican  con- 
vention [a  delegate  from  Hartford]  I  intended  to 
spend  a  part  of  the  winter  in  Baltimore  and 
Washington.  On  reaching  Boston,  I  was  taken 
with  the  influenza,  which,  added  to  previous  ill 
health,  kept  me  at  home  during  the  whole  winter. 
In  the  spring  [of  1832]  the  precarious  state  of 
my  health,  and  some  prospects  which  were  held 
out  to  me  by  my  political  friends,  induced  me  to 
remain  in  this  section  of  the  country.  These  pros- 
pects might  have  been  realized  before  this  but 
for  a  circumstance  over  which  I  had  no  control. 
You  know  what  a  tedious  time  we  have  had  here 
relative  to  the  choice  of  Eepresentative  to  Con- 
gress. My  political  friends  insisted  upon  my 
allowing  myself  to  be  a  candidate.  Astonished  as 
I  was  at  such  an  unexpected  prospect,  I  could 
only  assure  them  that  my  age  presented,  to  say 
nothing  of  anything  else,  an  insuperable  barrier, 
the  Constitution  requiring  twenty-five  years,  and 
my  age  being  only  twenty-four.  ...  I  should 
not  have  mentioned  it  but  to  account  for  my  re- 
maining in  this  section  of  the  country.  ...  I 
have  written  little  for  a  long  time  save  upon  dry 
politics.  I  hate  Jackson,  or  rather  Jackson's 
measures,  most  cordially.  I  admire  Clay,  and 
shall  do  all  I  can  to  promote  his  success." 

The  "tedious  time"  referred  to   in  the  above 
letter  was   in  connection  with   the   candidacy  of 


CALEB  GUSHING  167 

Caleb  Gushing,  who  began  his  efforts  to  get  into 
Congress  in  1826,  and  did  not  succeed  until  1834. 
He  had  many  enemies  in  his  own  party,  which  pre- 
vented his  election  in  a  district  where  his  side  was 
usually  in  the  ascendant.  He  was  occasionally 
disposed  to  transfer  to  some  friend  who  could 
unite  the  factions  of  his  party  the  burden  of  the 
candidacy.  There  were  seventeen  Congressional 
elections  in  the  North  Essex  district  between  1831 
and  1833,  and  the  seat  in  the  national  legislature 
to  which  this  district  was  entitled  was  vacant  dur- 
ing nearly  the  whole  term.  In  the  summer  of  1832 
there  was  a  suggestion  to  unite  the  party  by  nom- 
inating Mr.  Whittier.  Mr.  Thayer,  editor  of  the 
Haverhill "  Gazette,"  had  been  an  opponent  of  Cush- 
ing,  but  could  be  depended  upon  to  favor  Whittier, 
and  the  young  poet  was  quite  willing  to  accept  the 
position.  His  few  years'  experience  in  "  practical 
politics  "  had  fostered  an  ambition  for  power  and 
patronage,  of  which  those  can  have  no  idea  who 
knew  him  only  after  he  had  devoted  himself  to 
philanthropic  labors.  After  leaving  his  political 
editorship  in  Boston  and  Hartford,  and  coming 
back  to  his  farm,  he  found  his  friend  Edwin  Har- 
riman  editing  the  Haverhill  "  Iris,"  a  Cushing 
paper.  He  contributed  many  political  articles  to 
the  "  Iris,"  and  one  or  two  partisan  poems,  like  the 
satirical  verses  addressed  to  the  "  Poetical  Trio," 
given  in  a  preceding  chapter.  Here  is  a  private 
letter  to  Harriman  which  illustrates  the  motives 
and  methods  of  Whittier's  ambition,  before  the 
great  change  which  came  over  his  spirit  a  year  or 
two  later.  He  suggests  that  an  election  can  be 


168  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

prevented  in  November  by  keeping  Gushing  in  the 
field,  if  the  Kittredge  faction  also  nominate  a  can- 
didate, while  the  Newburyport  friends  of  Gushing 
may  be  encouraged  to  hope  there  will  be  no  Kit- 
tredge candidate.  After  the  November  trial  he 
will  himself  be  old  enough  to  go  to  Congress. 
The  letter  is  dated  "  East  Parish,  Wednesday  morn- 
ing," probably  in  August,  1832. 

"Since  conversing  with  you  yesterday,  a  new 
objection  to  our  project  has  occurred  to  me,  —  the 
Constitution  requires  that  the  Eepresentative  shall 
be  twenty-five  years  of  age.  I  shall  not  be  twenty- 
five  till  the  17th  of  December.  So  that  I  would 
not  be  eligible  at  the  next  trial  in  November. 
This,  you  will  see,  gives  a  different  aspect  to  the 
whole  affair.  Perhaps,  however,  if  the  contest  is 
prolonged  till  after  the  next  time,  the  project  might 
be  put  in  execution. 

"  Suppose  you  advocate  a  holding  on  to  Mr.  C. 
in  your  Newburyport  letter  ?  Suppose,  too,  that  you 
nominate  in  your  paper  Mr.  Gushing  without  any 
one-sided  convention  ?  After  the  trial  in  Novem- 
ber, you  can  then  use  the  arguments  in  favor  of 
our  plan  which  you  propose  to  do  now ;  and  if  it 
suits  Mr.  C.  he  can  then  request  his  friends  to  give 
their  votes  for  some  other  individual  for  the  sake 
of  promoting  peace  in  the  district.  The  Kittredge 
committee  would  in  that  case  probably  nominate  a 
candidate,  —  if  one  could  be  found,  —  but,  I  un- 
derstand Mr.  Thayer,  not  with  the  expectation  of 
his  being  elected. 

"  If  I  were  nominated  after  the  November  trial, 
Mr.  Thayer,  situated  as  he  and  I  relatively  are, 


WHITTIER'S  AMBITION  169 

would  support  the  nomination,  and  let  the  other 
candidate  go,  as  he  did  John  Merrill.  Purdy,  the 
4  Telegraph,'  and  the  '  Essex  Register  '  would  do 
the  same. 

"  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  the  thing  would  be 
peculiarly  beneficial  to  me,  —  if  not  at  home  it 
would  be  so  abroad.  It  would  give  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  and  knowing  our  public  characters, 
and  in  case  of  Mr.  Clay's  election  might  enable 
me  to  do  something  for  myself  or  my  friends.  It 
would  be  worth  more  to  me  now,  young  as  I  am, 
than  almost  any  office  after  I  had  reached  the 
meridian  of  life. 

"  In  this  matter,  if  I  know  my  own  heart,  I 
am  not  entirely  selfish.  I  never  yet  deserted  a 
friend,  and  I  never  will.  If  my  friends  enable 
me  to  acquire  influence,  it  shall  be  exerted  for 
their  benefit.  And  give  me  once  an  opportunity 
of  exercising  it,  my  first  object  shall  be  to  evince 
my  gratitude  by  exertions  in  behalf  of  those  who 
had  conferred  such  a  favor  upon  me. 

"  If  you  write  to  Newburyport  to-day,  you  can 
say  that  we  are  willing  and  ready  to  do  all  we  can 
at  the  next  trial ;  say,  too,  that  the  Kittredge  folks 
will  scarcely  find  a  candidate,  and  that  there  may 
be  a  chance  for  Gushing  better  than  he  has  yet  had ; 
that  at  all  events  it  can  do  no  harm ;  and  that  if 
after  that  trial  Mr.  C.  sees  fit  to  request  his  friends 
not  to  vote  for  him  for  the  22d  Congress,  there 
will  be  as  good  a  chance  then  of  electing  a  Gushing 
man  as  there  is  now.  Say,  too,  if  you  please,  that 
I  am  ready  to  go  on  with  the  contest,  and  you  had 
better  recommend  mildness  in  the  process  of  elec- 
tioneering." 


170  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

In  October,  1833,  he  wrote  to  his  old  Hartford 
friend,  Jonathan  Law  :  — 

"  I  am  happy  to  hear  that  the  overthrow  of  our 
political  party  has  not  depressed  thee.  Alas  for 
National  Republicanism !  It  yet  lingers  here  in 
this  State,  but  desertions  are  rapidly  thinning  its 
once  firm  ranks,  and  in  a  year  those  who  know  it 
now  will  know  it  no  more  forever.  I  speak  of 
the  great  majority.  For  myself,  I  see  no  reason 
for  a  change  of  opinion,  and  I  should  as  soon 
think  of  worshiping  the  devil  with  the  Mani- 
cheans,  as  to  fall  down  and  do  homage  to  Andrew 
Jackson  with  the  idolatrous  '  spoils  party '  of  the 
day.  No,  the  old  man  is  no  better  than  he  was 
when  we  battled  him  in  Hartford ;  nay,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  age  has  improved  him,  as  death 
did  Sheridan's  fat  friar,  '  in  the  wrong  way.' 
His  late  manifesto  on  the  United  States  Bank  is 
as  full  of  egotistical  authority  as  an  imperial 
ukase,  or  a  Turkish  firman.  And  then,  there  is 
that  'foregone  conclusion,'  Martin  Van  Buren, 
clinging  to  the  skirts  of  the  old  General,  and  who- 
ever does  homage  to  the  latter  is  aiding  the  '  polit- 
ical grimalkin '  (as  Clinton  called  him)  to  slip 
into  the  Presidency,  nolens  volens.  J.  Q.  Adams 
is  nominated  for  governor  by  the  anti-Masons  in 
this  State ;  he  is  a  strong  candidate,  but  he  will 
not  go  down.  John  Davis,  our  candidate,  is  a 
very  able  man,  and  popular  withal.  There  will 
probably  be  no  choice  by  the  people.  Edward 
Everett  has  joined  the  anti-Masons,  and  there  's 
a  terrible  hubbub  about  it.  Daniel  Webster,  they 
say,  is  anti-Masonic,  but  Dan  is  crafty,  and  will 


THE  ANTI-MASONS  171 

not  hang  out  his  flag  at  present.  As  for  you  in 
Connecticut,  you  are  disgracing  yourselves  as  much 
as  possible  by  black  laws  and  grog-shop  laws. 
God  grant  you  a  speedy  deliverance  from  Jackson- 
ism.  ...  I  am  busy  on  my  farm  as  a  beaver 
building  his  dam.  My  health  is  vastly  improved ; 
the  blues  have  left  me  ;  I  go  to  husking  frolics, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  I  have  put  the  veto 
upon  poetry  ;  read  all  I  can  find,  politics,  history, 
rhyme,  reason,  etc.,  and  am  happy,  —  at  least  I 
believe  I  am.  I  have  written  some  considerable 
upon  slavery,  and  have  been  pretty  roughly  han- 
dled by  the  Southerners.  But  so  long  as  I  can 
intrench  myself  behind  my  Quakerism,  as  a  tor- 
toise does  under  his  shell,  I  am  perfectly  safe. 
The  slavery  question  is  getting  to  be  an  absorbing 
one,  and  the  recent  noble  act  of  Great  Britain  will 
contribute  to  effect  a  change  in  this  country.  .  .  . 
As  to  your  suggestion  about  poetry,  I  must  decline 
attending  to  it.  I  have  knocked  Pegasus  on  the 
head,  as  a  tanner  does  his  bark-mill  donkey,  when 
he  is  past  service.  I  am  fixed  at  Haverhill,  as 
Pope  says,  — 

4  Fixed  as  a  plant  to  one  peculiar  spot, 
To  draw  nutrition,  propagate  and  rot.'  " 

The  feeling  against  slavery  had  been  growing 
strong  enough  to  have  a  marked  effect  upon  the 
National  Republican  party  in  Massachusetts,  al- 
though for  several  years  no  third  party  took  the 
field.  The  abolitionists,  led  in  Essex  County  by 
Whittier,  questioned  the  candidates  as  to  their 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  right  of  petition  and 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  They  would 


172  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

vote  only  for  those  who  promised  to  present  and 
defend  petitions  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  and  in  the  Territories.  Gushing  was  dis- 
trusted by  the  anti-slavery  men  generally.  But 
Whittier  recognized  his  great  ability,  and  wished 
to  turn  it  to  account  in  aiding  the  cause  of 
liberty.  Before  each  election,  in  1834,  1836,  and 
1838,  he  secured  Cushing's  unqualified  pledges  in 
favor  of  some  of  the  measures  demanded  by  the 
abolitionists.  He  then  used  his  whole  influence, 
and  secured  his  election  each  time.  Gushing 
acknowledged  that  he  owed  his  success  to  his 
young  Quaker  friend,  and  redeemed  his  pledge  by 
presenting  the  anti-slavery  petitions  which  Whit- 
tier  caused  to  be  poured  in  upon  him  from  every 
part  of  the  Essex  district.  That  Cushing's  heart 
was  not  in  it  is  shown  by  the  disclaimers  he  made 
as  he  presented  the  petitions.  But  he  supported 
John  Quincy  Adams  in  his  demand  that  every 
petition  should  be  received,  no  matter  what  was 
called  for,  and  respectfully  referred  to  the  appro- 
priate committee.  His  spirited  speeches  equaled 
those  of  Adams  himself,  in  eloquence  and  in  cour- 
age. The  "gag  rule"  introduced  by  Jarvis,  of 
Maine,  was  opposed  by  him  with  great  ability, 
but  he  took  pains  to  say  that  he  did  not  fully 
approve  of  the  petitions  he  insisted  should  be 
received.  Whittier  kept  him  up  to  his  work  by 
canvassing  the  Essex  North  district  and  forward- 
ing petitions  from  every  town  where  he  could  ob- 
tain signers  to  them. 

As   an   illustration   of    the   manner    in   which 
Whittier  plied  Gushing  with  material  for  speeches 


LETTERS   TO   CALEB   GUSHING         173 

and  sought  to  keep  him  in  line,  the  following  let- 
ters have  an  interest. 


NEWBURYPORT,  25th  of  10th  mo.,  1834. 
I  am  disappointed  in  not  seeing  thee  at  this 
place  and  this  time,  as  I  called  to  apprise  thee  of 
the  fact  that  at  our  meeting  of  the  Essex  County 
Anti-Slavery  Society  yesterday  at  Danvers,  it  was 
unanimously  agreed  upon  to  write  letters  to  the 
candidates  for  Congress  and  state  legislature  on  the 
subject  of  slavery  and  of  their  views  of  action  in 
Congress  and  in  the  legislature  upon  it.  Until 
after  the  passage  of  this  resolution  I  did  not  reflect 
that  it  would  embrace  thyself  and  Osgood  [his 
Democratic  opponent] ,  as  we  were  thinking  of  Sal- 
tonstall  and  Rantoul  [in  the  other  Essex  district] . 
As  it  is,  however,  I  hope  thee  will  favor  the  Soci- 
ety with  an  explicit  answer,  as  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty  delegates  present  pledged  themselves 
to  vote  for  no  man  of  any  party  who  was  not  in 
favor  of  abolition  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  I 
heard,  too,  from  a  gentleman  in  the  meeting,  that 
two  or  three  hundred  of  the  legal  voters  of  Lowell 
have  pledged  themselves  to  this  effect. 

HAVERHILL,  3d  of  llth  mo.,  1&34 

Several  individuals,  personally  and  politically 
thy  friends,  have  suggested  to  me  the  idea  of  ad- 
dressing thee  in  regard  to  thy  sentiments  in  relation 
to  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  From  this 
I  have  uniformly  dissuaded  them  by  assuring 
them  that,  although  friendly  to  Colonization  and 
consequently  opposed  to  Immediate  Emancipation 


174  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

and  many  of  their  views,  I  could  have  no  manner 
of  doubt  of  thy  willingness  to  do  all  in  thy  power 
to  remove  slavery  from  the  District,  where  it  ex- 
ists without  warrant  from  the  Constitution,  and  in 
its  most  aggravated  form.  By  this  assurance  I 
have,  I  believe,  fully  satisfied  the  individuals  to 
whom  I  allude.  Perhaps  in  making  it  I  have 
unintentionally  misrepresented  thy  views  and  feel- 
ings. If  so,  I  can  only  say  that  my  motives  were 
of  the  most  friendly  nature.  In  the  present  pos- 
ture of  affairs  in  this  district  any  formal  inter- 
rogation of  candidates  in  reference  to  matters  of 
this  kind  is  certainly  to  be  deprecated.  But  no- 
thing is  more  certain  than  that  the  time  is  close 
at  hand  when  it  cannot  be  avoided.  The  spirit 
working  deep  in  the  heart  of  New  England  will  not 
slumber.  Party  machinery  will  not  much  longer 
repress  it.  If  I  have  rightly  represented  thy  views 
it  would  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  myself  to  be  able 
to  put  a  line  from  thee  to  that  effect  in  the  hands 
of  two  or  three  gentlemen  previous  to  the  coming 
election.  If  on  the  other  hand  I  have  mistaken 
them,  thee  will  oblige  me  by  making  no  reply  what- 
ever in  reference  to  the  particular  subject  of  this 
letter.  Thayer  has  been  acting  with  a  great  deal 
of  prudence  as  well  as  firmness  in  the  support  of 
the  Whig  nominations. 

•    20th  of  2d  mo.,  1836. 

I  send  thee  three  small  petitions,  and  will 
trouble  thee  no  more  for  the  present  session. 
Many  thanks  for  thy  defense  of  Adams,  and  of 
the  petitioners  of  Massachusetts.  We  have  just 


LETTERS  TO  CALEB  GUSHING  175 

got  the  question  before  the  legislature  in  relation 
to  the  right  of  petition,  as  violated  by  the  resolu- 
tion in  Congress  of  the  18th  of  January.  It  will 
probably  be  protested  against  on  the  part  of  our 
legislature,  and  thus  you  will  be  fully  supported 
at  home. 

HAVERHIIX,  1st  of  3d  mo.,  1836. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  thee  for  thy  account  of 
the  state  of  politics  at  Washington.  It  is,  how- 
ever, pretty  much  as  I  had  previously  supposed. 
My  object  in  making  the  remark  thee  allude  to 
was  to  put  thee  on  thy  guard  in  reference  to  the 
state  of  parties  here.  Our  last  election  was  omi- 
nous. The  Whig  party  cannot  stand  much 
longer  in  Massachusetts.  The  Whig  men,  with 
the  exercise  of  a  prudence  and  forecast  perfectly 
consistent  with  sound  principles,  may.  I  notice 
that  the  Southern  and  Western  Whigs  take  every 
possible  occasion  in  Congress  to  attack  Van  Buren 
and  his  friends  at  the  North.  This  course  would 
be  fatal  to  the  Massachusetts  delegation.  A  firm 
and  steady  support  of  Daniel  Webster,  without 
playing  into  the  hands  of  the  White  and  Harri- 
son parties,  or  volunteering  attacks  upon  the  Van 
Buren  party,  is,  it  appears  to  me,  the  safest  course 
for  yourselves,  and  the  best  for  the  true  interests 
of  the  State.  Thy  skirmish  with  Hardin,  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  its  triumphant  result  on  thy  part,  has 
gained  thee  no  small  degree  of  credit  among  all 
parties  here.  It  discovered  an  untrammeled  and 
independent  spirit,  and  a  determination  to  defend 
the  honor  and  the  interests  of  thy  constituents, 


176  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

irrespective  of  partisan  feelings.  I  like  the  old- 
fashioned  democratic  tone  of  thy  speech  on  the 
right  of  petition.  The  Van  Bur  en  organ  in  this 
district  copied  two  paragraphs  of  it  with  approba- 
tion. On  the  right  of  free  speech  and  communi- 
cations there  will  be  a  splendid  opportunity  to 
maintain  the  vital  principles  of  democracy;  to 
hold  up  before  the  nation  the  now  universally 
detested  Sedition  Law ;  to  speak  of  those  who 
suffered  by  it,  and  to  set  the  Democrats  of  Vir- 
ginia and  South  Carolina  of  1800  in  battle  array 
against  the  position  of  these  "  chivalrous  "  sov- 
ereignties at  the  present  time.  It  will  be  sport  to 
see  the  "engineer  hoist  with  his  own  petard." 
I  wish  that  some  one  of  the  Massachusetts  delega- 
tion would  just  tell  the  Southerners  that  the  old 
Bay  State  was  never  a  slave  State;  that,  al- 
though slavery  existed  here,  it  was  recognized  by 
our  laws  only  as  an  existing  evil,  and  stood  only 
upon  its  own  execrable  foundation  of  robbery  and 
wrong ;  that  our  courts  of  justice  were  temples 
of  refuge  for  the  slaves  long  before  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1780.  Thus,  in  1770,  a  suit  was  instituted 
by  a  slave  in  our  judicial  courts  for  freedom  and 
recompense  for  his  services  after  attaining  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  and  the  court  decided  in  his 
favor.  Other  suits  were  in  consequence  insti- 
tuted, and  all  terminated  in  favor  of  liberty. 
(Vide  Dr.  Belknap's  answer  to  Judge  Tucker.) 
On  the  part  of  the  slave  it  was  pleaded  that  servi- 
tude was  a  violation  of  the  colony's  charter,  and 
of  the  fundamental  law  of  England,  that  no  person 
could  be  deprived  of  liberty  but  by  the  judgment 


LETTERS   TO   CALEB  GUSHING       177 

of  his  peers.  These  facts  are  doubtless  familiar 
to  thee,  and  I  only  wish  to  call  thy  attention  to 
them. 


HAVEKHILL,  12th  of  12th  mo.,  1836. 
I  send  thee  three  or  four  petitions,  and  there 's 
"  mair  a-cominV  We  need  not  tell  thee  that  we 
want  a  hearing  before  Congress,  and  that  we  must 
have  it  somehow  or  other.  The  next  year  we 
shall  send  double  the  number,  and  so  on,  until  the 
united  voice  of  New  England  thunders  upon  the 
ear  of  Congress. 

PHILADELPHIA,  16th  of  1st  mo.,  1837. 
I  expected  to  have  been  in  Washington  ere 
this ;  but  shall  remain  here  until  after  the  Har- 
risburg  fanatical  convention.  .  .  .  How  are  the 
abolition  petitions  received  ?  I  am  looking  with 
a  good  deal  of  anxiety  for  the  presentment  of  the 
petitions  from  Essex  County. 

BOSTON,  13th  of  3d  mo.,  1837. 

I  send  with  this  a  copy  of  the  report  and  reso- 
lutions of  the  committee  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
and  the  right  of  petition.  These  resolutions,  or 
others  stronger,  will  pass  in  both  Houses.  The 
message  of  Van  Buren,  and  the  course  of  the  Van 
Buren  party  in  Congress,  have  induced  the  lead- 
ing Whigs  to  take  this  course.  Many  of  the  Van 
Buren  men  will  go  for  the  report.  I  am  thankful 
that  Massachusetts  will  thus  nobly  sustain  her 
Representatives,  and  assert  the  right  of  her  citi- 
zens "  peaceably  to  assemble  and  petition  for  the 


178  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

redress  of  grievances."  I  regret  we  have  not  yet 
been  favored  with  thy  speech  in  Congress  in  the 
great  debate  on  the  John  Quincy  Adams  petition. 
It  would  have  done  good  [in  promoting  the  pas- 
sage of  the  resolutions  before  the  legislature]. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  Van  Buren's  message? 
Is  it  the  settled  policy  of  "  the  government "  to 
"go  to  the  death"  for  slavery?  Will  the  old 
Calhoun  party  accept  the  veto  pledge  of  Van 
Buren  as  a  sufficient  peace  offering,  ground  their 
arms,  and  wear  the  brands  and  ear-marks  of  "  the 
party "  ?  I  have  been  amused  in  looking  at 
Ritchie's  comments  on  the  message.  They  are  full 
of  the  childishness  and  garrulousness  of  dotage 
gratified  in  its  childish  whims.  But  one  thing  is 
certain :  Van  Buren  will  lose  Rhode  Island,  Con- 
necticut, and  Pennsylvania  by  his  extraordinary 
veto  threat.  How  much  he  will  gain  by  it  at  the 
South  remains  to  be  seen. 

AMESBURY,  14th  of  4th  mo.,  1837. 

Our  county  anti-slavery  society  holds  its  quarterly 
meeting  in  this  place  on  the  21st.  As  the  secretary  of 
the  society  and  the  person  who  forwarded  the  peti- 
tions to  Congress,  I  wish  to  state  to  the  meeting  what 
was  the  fate  of  their  petitions.  The  reports  of 
Congressional  proceedings  are  not  accurate  or  full. 
Next  session  our  American  society  will  have  two 
reporters  in  Washington.  Could  thee  write  me  a  let- 
ter in  reference  to  the  reception  of  the  petitions,  and 
permit  me  to  read  it  as  a  private  but  not  strictly 
confidential  letter  to  myself?  A  similar  request 
will  be  made  to  Mr.  Phillips.  Of  course  I  do  not 


PETITIONS   TO  CONGRESS  179 

expect  you  to  avow  yourselves  to  be  other  than 
what  you  are  now  understood  to  be,  —  anti-abolition. 
But  as  an  abolitionist  I  am  grateful  to  both  of  you 
for  your  defense  of  the  character  of  the  petitioners, 
and  for  your  manly  stand  for  the  periled  right  of 
petition. 

The  first  draft  of  Cushing's  reply  to  the  above 
note  is  folded  with  it  among  his  papers.  He  gives 
the  list  of  petitions,  and  tells  which  have  been 
presented  and  which  are  to  be  hereafter  offered. 

The  records  of  Congress  show  that  Haverhill 
and  Amesbury  did  more  than  their  share  in  peti- 
tioning, and  Mr.  Whittier's  hand  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  whole  movement  in  that  part  of  Massachusetts. 
The  famous  Haverhill  petition  of  1842  created  a 
remarkable  scene  in  the  national  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. The  Southern  members  were  exasper- 
ated by  the  persistency  with  which  these  petitions 
were  offered  by  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Caleb 
Gushing.  They  threatened  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union,  unless  even  the  right  of  petition  was  de- 
nied upon  topics  that  directly  or  indirectly  affected 
their  "  peculiar  institution."  It  was  in  part  to 
rebuke  these  hollow  threats  of  dissolution  that 
the  Haverhill  petition,  with  forty-three  signers, 
was  presented  by  John  Quincy  Adams.  It  read 
as  follows :  — 

"  The  undersigned,  citizens  of  Haverhill,  in  the 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  pray  that  you 
will  immediately  adopt  measures,  peaceably  to 
dissolve  the  union  of  these  States :  First,  because 
no  union  can  be  agreeable  or  permanent  which 


180  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

does  not  present  prospects  of  reciprocal  benefit; 
second,  because  a  vast  proportion  of  the  resources 
of  one  section  of  the  Union  is  annually  drained  to 
sustain  the  views  and  course  of  another  section 
without  any  adequate  return;  third,  because 
(judging  from  the  history  of  past  nations)  this 
union,  if  persisted  in,  in  the  present  course  of 
things,  will  certainly  overwhelm  the  whole  nation 
in  utter  destruction." 

The  wildest  storm  ever  witnessed  in  the  House 
was  raised  by  this  petition.  A  resolution  to  expel 
Mr.  Adams  for  presenting  it  was  debated  for  four 
days,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  offered  the  deepest 
indignity  to  the  House,  the  greatest  insult  to  the 
American  people,  and  that  he  was  even  guilty 
of  high  treason.  Mr.  Adams's  intrepid  bearing 
throughout  the  tumult  his  action  had  caused  saved 
that  venerable  statesman  from  an  expulsion  that 
was  meant  to  be  ignominious.  He  had  explained 
at  the  outset  that  he  did  not  favor  the  petition, 
but  demanded  that  all  respectful  petitions  should 
be  considered.  Whether  this  particular  petition 
was  written  by  Mr.  Whittier  is  not  certain,  but  as 
it  came  from  his  native  town  at  a  time  when  he 
was  actively  circulating  petitions,  it  is  probable  he 
had  something  to  do  with  it.  One  of  the  petitions 
sent  to  Adams,  which,  however,  he  did  not  present, 
though  he  tantalized  his  opponents  by  exhibiting 
it,  was  a  satire  upon  the  objection  that  most  of  the 
petitioners  were  women,  who  had  no  business  to 
mingle  in  public  affairs.  This  petition  prayed 
that  Congress  would  memorialize  the  British  gov- 
ernment to  dethrone  Victoria,  on  the  ground  that 


GUSHING  AND   THE  LIBERTY  PARTY    181 

women  had  departed  from  their  proper  sphere  of 
duty  when  they  assumed  the  management  of  public 
affairs ! 

When  nominated  by  the  Whigs  in  1838,  Gush- 
ing  was  not  inclined  to  pledge  himself  again  to  his 
anti-slavery  constituents.  .  He  thought  he  was 
strong  enough  in  his  district  to  get  along  without 
making  again  the  disagreeable  pledges  by  which 
he  had  been  bound  in  former  years.  Besides, 
Whittier  had  gone  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  was 
editing  the  "  Freeman,"  and  Cushing  thought  he 
had  a  fair  field  for  an  unpledged  election.  But 
his  hopes  were  dashed  by  the  appearance  of  his 
Quaker  friend  on  the  scene  at  the  last  moment. 
Whether  Whittier  came  home  on  purpose  to  man- 
age this  election  does  not  appear ;  but  he  was 
present  at  the  Liberty  party  convention  in  Salem 
to  which  Cushing  sent  an  ingeniously  worded  but 
non-committal  letter,  referring  to  his  past  record  in 
the  matter  of  the  right  of  petition  and  the  domestic 
slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  A  ques- 
tion had  been  asked  him  in  regard  to  the  Territo- 
ries ;  and  he  replied  that  he  objected  to  interfering 
with  the  institution  in  Florida,  while  a  Territory. 
He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  a  previous 
session  he  voted  against  a  resolution  declaring  that 
Congress  ought  not  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the 
District.  He  had  also  voted  against  the  admission 
of  Arkansas  as  a  slave  State.  He  would  do  the 
same  in  the  case  of  Florida,  when  it  should  call 
for  statehood.  He  was  in  favor  of  restricting  the 
domestic  slave  trade,  which  he  said  had  not  even 
the  poor  excuse  of  the  foreign  slave  trade,  that  it 


182  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

transfers  men  from  a  barbarous  to  a  civilized  com- 
munity. But  he  declined  to  pledge  himself  to 
specific  measures,  saying,  "  I  cling  to  my  personal 
independence  as  the  choicest  and  richest  of  all 
possessions.  I  will  take  my  place  in  Congress 
as  a  freeman  or  not  at  all,  pledged  only  to  Truth, 
Liberty,  and  the  Constitution,  with  no  terror  be- 
fore my  eyes  but  the  terror  to  do  wrong.  Thus, 
or  not  at  all,  will  I  reascend  the  giant  stairs  of 
the  Capitol."  Whittier  was  determined  to  get 
a  more  explicit  pledge  or  prevent  his  election. 
At  his  suggestion,  his  friend  Henry  B.  Stanton 
read  Cushing's  letter  and  commented  upon  it  in  a 
humorous  and  caustic  way,  and  the  convention 
adjourned  without  any  action  in  his  favor.  Gush- 
ing, who  was  anxious  to  secure  the  Liberty  vote, 
was  in  a  corner  of  the  gallery  while  his  communi- 
cation was  being  criticised.  In  the  evening,  he 
met  Whittier  at  the  hotel,  and  expressed  his 
chagrin-  at  the  reception  given  his  careful  letter. 
He  said,  "  What  shall  I  do?  "  Whittier  replied, 
"  Thee  cannot  expect  the  votes  of  our  people,  unless 
thee  speaks  more  plainly."  "  But  how  can  I  do 
that  now?"  said  Cushing.  Whittier  suggested, 
"  Write  a  short  letter  to  me,  and  do  not  hide  thy 
meaning  under  many  words."  Cushing  did  not 
feel  like  doing  it,  but  said  at  length,  "  Let  me  see 
you  in  the  morning."  Whittier  was  to  leave  for 
home  by  stage  quite  early,  and  promised  to  call  for 
Cushing.  He  found  the  anxious  statesman  half- 
dressed,  and  waiting  for  him.  He  had  decided  to 
sign  any  letter  that  Whittier  would  write.  Whit- 
tier thereupon  wrote  the  short  letter  that  follows, 


GUSHING  AND   THE  LIBERTY  PARTY    183 

which  Gushing  copied  and  signed,  and  it  was  sent 
to  all  parts  of  the  Essex  district  by  special  mes- 
sengers :  — • 

SALEM,  November  8, 1838. 

MY  DEAR  SiK,  —  I  should  regret  to  have  any 
doubt  remain  on  your  mind  as  to  the  import  of 
those  points  of  my  letter  which  are  referred  to  by 
you.  In  respect  to  the  District  of  Columbia,  I  am 
in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave 
trade  therein,  by  the  earliest  practicable  legislation 
of  Congress,  regard  being  had  for  the  just  rights 
of  all  classes  of  the  citizens,  and  I  intended  to  be 
so  understood. 

In  the  concluding  part  of  the  letter,  I  stated 
that  I  felt  bound  to  withhold  stipulation  in  detail, 
as  to  my  future  course  in  Congress.  But  I  did 
not  design  it  to  be  understood  that  I  entertained 
any  desire  or  disposition  to  change  my  course  in 
regard  to  the  subjects  embraced  in  the  letter ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  being  resolved  to  continue  to 
maintain  on  all  suitable  occasions,  as  I  have  here- 
tofore done,  the  principles  and  spirit  of  the  re- 
solves of  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  apper- 
taining to  the  right  of  petition,  and  to  slavery  and 
the  slave  trade,  in  their  various  relations. 
I  am,  very  faithfully,  yours, 

CALEB  GUSHING.* 

To  JOHN  Q.  WHITTIER,  Esq. 

1  This  letter  got  into  the  papers  at  the  South,  and  they  taunted 
Gushing  with  having  given  a  double  pledge  to  the  abolitionists. 
Wbittier  came  to  his  defense  in  the  Pennsylvania  Freeman,  ex- 
plaining  the  matter  as  follows :  "  A  private  note  from  him  in  re- 
ply to  one  from  ourself  as  his  former  neighbor  and  personal  friend, 


184  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

This  letter  was  satisfactory,  gave  Gushing  the 
Liberty  votes,  elected  him  by  1800  majority,  and 
made  him  a  third  time  indebted  to  Whittier  for 
his  election.  He  was  kept  up  to  his  promises  by 
constant  reminders,  and  his  course  during  this 
term  also  was  in  general  satisfactory  to  his  anti- 
slavery  constituents.  The  tactics  of  Whittier  in 
his  dealings  with  Gushing,  throughout  the  Con- 
gressional career  of  that  statesman,  are  amusingly 
shown  in  a  letter  written  from  Haverhill,  January 
10,  1836,  to  his  friend  Thayer  in  Philadelphia  :  — 

"  The  anti-slavery  folks  have  circulated  a  peti- 
tion to  Congress  in  the  village,  and  it  has  been 
signed  by  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  legal 
voters.  We  shall  plague  Gushing  with  it,  but  he 
had  as  lief  see  the  Old  Enemy  himself  as  see  it. 
'T  is  nothing  to  the  dose  we  shall  fix  for  Congress 
next  year.  We  '11  haunt  'em,  and  torment  'em, 
till  they  behave  better.  We  '11  prosecute  our  suit 
with  a  pertinacity  which  shall  rival  that  of  William 
Vans,  or  Walter  Scott's  Peter  Peebles.  .  .  .  What 
has  got  into  the  Pennsylvania  Quakers?  Who 
would  have  expected  to  see  them  tossing  their 
broadbrims  into  the  air  for  the  '  Hero  of  Tippe- 


asking  an  explanation  of  some  points  in  his  letter  to  the  anti- 
slavery  committee,  was  published  and  circulated  in  the  district 
on  our  own  responsibility.  He  was  not  elected  as  an  abolitionist, 
but  his  whole  course  in  Congress  on  this  question  has  been  honor- 
able to  himself  —  manly,  open,  and  consistent.  Whatever  else 
the  papers  may  say  of  him,  they  cannot  accuse  him  of  being  a 
'dough-face.'  He  has  never  betrayed  his  constituents,  nor  com- 
promised the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  Pilgrim  State,  on  the  ques- 
tion of  human  liberty." 


WHITTIER'S  POLITICAL  SKILL         185 

In  1840,  all  kinds  of  hat-brims  were  being  tossed 
up  for  the  "  Hero  of  Tippecanoe,"  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  general  enthusiasm,  Gushing  thought  he 
could  safely  cut  loose  from  the  bondage  to  the 
"  anti-slavery  folks  "  that  had  galled  him  for  his 
first  three  terms  in  Congress.  He  made  no  pledges 
that  year,  and  was  nevertheless  elected,  but  he 
found  to  his  sorrow  that  he  was  not  yet  done  with 
Whittier.  In  1841,  the  Whigs  came  into  power, 
and  Gushing  looked  for  some  office  of  national 
importance.  He  would  have  obtained  it  but  for  the 
anti-slavery  record  Whittier  had  forced  upon  him, 
and  perhaps  in  spite  of  that  record,  if  Whittier 
had  held  his  peace.  President  Tyler  three  times 
nominated  him  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  but 
the  Senate  rejected  him  each  time  with  increasing 
majorities.1  Whittier  had  taken  pains  to  repub- 
lish  that  letter  of  1838,  which  Gushing  had  signed 
at  his  direction,  and  had  prefaced  it  with  these 
comments :  — 

"  CALEB  GUSHING.  —  As  our  distinguished  and 
talented  fellow-citizen  of  Essex  North  may  erelong 
be  before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  for  a 
high  post,  we  think  it  well  to  let  them  understand 
in  good  season  that  Mr.  Gushing  is  no  less  an  ab- 
olitionist than  Edward  Everett  [whom  the  Senate 
had  previously  rejected].  When  questioned  by 
the  abolitionists  previous  to  his  election  in  1838, 
his  reply  was  rather  vague  and  unsatisfactory. 
It  was  so  judged  by  the  abolitionists  in  convention 

1  Ten  years  later,  Gushing-,  then  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
legislature,  when  trying  to  prevent  the  election  of  Sumner  to  the 
Senate,  again  came  into  unsuccessful  collision  with  Whittier. 


186  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

assembled,  and  the  prospect  was  that  he  would  lose 
his  election.  At  the  eleventh  hour,  his  personal 
friend,  John  G.  Whittier,  went  to  him  and  told 
him  of  his  danger,  and  he  penned  the  following 
explanation,  which  saved  his  election  by  1800 
votes.  We  shall  see  whether  he  will  eat  back  this 
explanation  for  the  sake  of  being  premier  or  any- 
thing else  under  John  Tyler  of  Virginia." 

Whittier's  skill  in  handling  all  the  weapons  of 
politics  in  behalf  of  a  cause  which  both  the  great 
parties  at  the  North  were  then  doing  their  best  to 
keep  out  of  the  field  of  their  controversies,  was 
shown  in  many  ways  even  before  he  assisted  in 
forming  the  great  party  of  freedom  which  in 
twenty  years  placed  Abraham  Lincoln  at  the  head 
of  our  government.  From  first  to  last,  he  refused 
to  come  out  from  his  party  until  he  had  done  all 
that  could  be  done  to  induce  it  to  assist  in  the 
work  of  reform.  He  would  not  cast  aside  a  strong 
man,  if  he  could  get  ever  so  little  of  his  strength 
committed  to  the  cause  he  had  at  heart.  This  was 
strikingly  illustrated  in  the  Gushing  incident,  re- 
lated above,  and  it  is  to  be  noticed  in  his  whole 
career  as  a  philanthropist.  When  he  entered  the 
field  as  an  opponent  of  slavery,  he  took  with  him 
every  weapon  he  could  handle,  and  refused  to 
throw  away  the  ballot,  as  did  many  of  his  associ- 
ates. In  an  editorial  article  written  in  those  days  , 
he  says :  "  What  an  absurdity  is  moral  action 
apart  from  political !  "  His  pen  was  consecrated 
to  the  cause,  and  he  refused  editorial  positions 
that  would  keep  him  off  the  field  toward  which 
a  sense  of  duty  urged  him.  In  1835-36,  his 


HIS  SENSE   OF  DUTY  187 

friend  Thayer  was,  as  we  have  seen,  calling  him  to 
Philadelphia  to  engage  in  a  promising  newspaper 
enterprise.  Here  is  an  extract  from  one  of  his 
letters  in  reply  :  — 

"  I  should  like  to  be  in  Philadelphia,  —  more  es- 
pecially since  thee  and  thy  folks  are  there,  but  .  .  . 
I  feel  too  deep  an  interest  in  the  struggle  now  go- 
ing on  between  Slavery  and  Freedom,  especially  as 
I  have  been  somewhat  active  in  the  cause  of  Eman- 
cipation, and  as  my  apparent  withdrawal  from  it 
might  be  construed  very  unfavorably  to  the  cause 
as  well  as  to  myself.  I  have,  I  hope,  no  fanaticism 
about  me ;  cant  of  all  kinds,  religious,  political, 
or  moral,  I  abhor.  But  I  regard  the  contest  now 
going  on  as  of  vital  interest  to  the  welfare  of  man- 
kind, not  in  our  country  alone,  but  in  all  the  world. 
It  is  a  struggle  for  the  rights  of  man  everywhere. 
In  such  a  cause,  I  must  not  seem  to  yield,  especially 
at  a  time  like  this,  when  its  advocacy  is  so  unpop- 
ular that  its  abandonment  would  subject  me  to  the 
charge  of  cowardice  and  insincerity.  I  must, 
therefore,  with  many  thanks  for  thy  offer,  which 
under  other  circumstances  might  have  been  most 
acceptable,  decline  accepting  it.  Believe  me,  I 
should  like  to  be  with  you,  but  I  cannot  there  be 
entirely  free."  l 

1  Another  extract  from  the  letter  above  quoted,  written  in  mid- 
winter from  the  old  homestead  at  East  Haverhill,  shows  how  his 
hands  were  employed  in  these  days  when  his  heart  was  so  fully 
occupied  with  philanthropic  work.  He  says,  "  I  live  out  of  the 
way  of  the  post  office,  and  only  see  it  about  once  a  fortnight. . .  . 
I  have  been  teaming  and  sledding  and  feeding  my  cattle,  for 

"  From  the  hens  on  the  roost  to  the  pigs  in  the  Sty 
I  am  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute." 


188  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

In  explanation  of  Mr.  Whittier's  frequent  assis- 
tance to  politicians  who  were  not  at  heart  in  favor 
of  the  cause  to  which  he  had  consecrated  all  his 
powers,  it  may  be  said  that  it  was  the  policy  of  his 
life  to  accept  whatever  aid  he  could  obtain  by  in- 
direct as  well  as  by  direct  methods.  He  did  not 
expect  even  from  the  politicians  of  his  own  party 
the  same  unselfish  devotion  to  duty  which  he  ex- 
acted of  himself,  and  much  less  did  he  expect  it  of 
others.  He  took  men  as  he  found  them,  encouraged 
them  to  go  part  way  with  him,  and  was  not  inclined 
to  lose  any  little  advantage  to  his  cause  which  they 
might  render.  This  habit  of  charitable  allowances 
for  men  who  had  a  capacity  for  serving  a  cause 
he  had  at  heart,  even  if  they  sometimes  made  grave 
mistakes,  is  shown  in  his  reply  to  a  friend  who 
was  complaining  of  a  party  leader  who  had  been 
accused  of  wrong-doing.  "  Has  thee  found  many 
saints  or  angels  in  thy  dealings  with  either  polit- 
ical party  ?  Do  not  expect  too  much  of  human 
nature."  He  had  a  genius  for  coalitions,  and 
could  accept  assistance  from  unfriendly  sources 
in  furtherance  of  a  philanthropic  object.  While 
he  did  not  purchase  such  aid  by  an  abandonment 
of  principle,  he  secured  it  sometimes  by  appeals  to 
the  selfish  ambitions  of  statesmen.  His  letters 
to  Rantoul  and  Gushing  show  his  skill  in  dealing 
with  strong  men  who  were  not  of  his  party. 
Through  Rantoul  he  secured,  in  1837,  the  almost 
unanimous  condemnation  of  President  Van  Buren's 
pro-slavery  course  from  the  Massachusetts  legisla- 
ture. Through  Gushing  he  held  up  the  hands  of 
John  Quincy  Adams  in  his  memorable  contest  in 


LAUREATE   OF  THE  LIBERTY  PARTY    189 

Congress  for  the  right  of  petition.  Neither  of 
these  objects  could  have  been  secured  but  by  the 
means  he  adopted.  Although  one  of  a  small  mi- 
nority, he  was  often  able  by  his  tactics  to  turn  the 
scale  of  the  great  parties  in  his  district  and  in  the 
State,  and  secure  for  the  cause  of  freedom  impor- 
tant advantages.  It  will  be  seen  later  how  largely 
he  contributed  to  the  election  of  Charles  Sumner 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  by  holding  the  anti- 
slavery  vote  to  a  coalition  distasteful  to  many  of 
his  followers,  which  gave  to  pro-slavery  Demo- 
crats the  governorship  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
principal  state  offices.  He  thought  it  of  the  first 
importance,  at  that  time,  to  secure  a  voice  for 
freedom  in  the  Senate,  and  was  willing  to  give  up 
a  great  deal  to  secure  it. 

Whittier  has  been  called  the  Laureate  of  the 
Liberty  party,  but  it  will  be  found  that  he  did  a 
great  deal  more  than  write  verse  for  it.  He  was 
active  in  conventions  that  inaugurated  and  shaped 
the  policy  of  the  party,  beginning  his  work  for  a 
third  party  only  when  all  hope  of  reforming  the 
others  had  to  be  given  up.  If  not  in  personal  at- 
tendance as  a  delegate,  he  wrote  letters  expressing 
his  views,  so  as  to  have  a  voice  in  the  councils  of 
the  party.  This  brought  him  into  collision  with  a 
large  number  of  his  friends  among  the  abolitionists, 
who  believed  in  the  policy  of  abstaining  from  all 
political  action  under  a  Constitution  which  they 
called  "  a  covenant  with  death  and  a  league  with 
hell,"  and  who  spent  much  time  in  denouncing 
churches  that  failed  to  do  their  whole  duty  to  the 
slave.  Whittier 's  position  in  regard  to  this  mat* 


190  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

ter  is  explained  in  a  letter  written  to  the  anti- 
Texas  convention  of  1845,  in  which  he  said  "  that 
though  as  an  abolitionist  he  was  no  blind  worshiper 
of  the  Union,  he  saw  nothing  to  be  gained  by  an 
effort,  necessarily  limited  and  futile,  to  dissolve  it. 
The  moral  and  political  power  requisite  for  dis- 
solving the  Union  could  far  more  easily  abolish 
every  vestige  of  slavery." 

Though  running  counter  to  the  teachings  of  Gar- 
rison in  this  matter,  and  coining  under  the  censure 
of  his  friend,  he  maintained  his  position  with 
steadiness.  He  was  ready  to  go  with  any  party 
that  was  marching  in  his  general  direction,  even  if 
he  could  not  keep  step  to  all  its  music.  He  re- 
fused to  enter  into  controversy  about  non-essentials, 
and  thought  that  the  contest  into  which  Garrison 
led  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  against  the 
Constitution  and  the  church  was  a  waste  of  strength 
that  had  better  be  applied  more  directly  to  the 
overthrow  of  the  system  of  slavery.  As  a  Quaker, 
he  had  been  a  "  come-outer  "  all  his  life,  and  had 
learned  the  art  of  coming  out  quietly  and  in  order. 
Many  of  the  leading  abolitionists  had  recently  left 
Orthodox  churches,  and  were  ablaze  with  the  ex- 
citement of  the  act.  The  Quaker  of  course  did 
not  disapprove  of  their  cutting  loose  from  a  church 
that  hampered  them,  but  thought  they  made  an 
unnecessary  fuss  about  it.  They  considered  it 
their  duty  to  hammer  away  not  only  at  the  church, 
but  at  all  abolitionists  whose  consciences  allowed 
them  to  remain  in  the  church.  Against  this  spirit 
Whittier  constantly  protested,  and  continued  to 
make  his  influence  felt  in  politics  by  questioning 


A   SHREWD  JUDGE   OF  MEN          191 

candidates,  and  supporting  only  those  who  pledged 
themselves  to  the  cause  of  freedom. 

When  a  state  legislature  was  to  be  influenced 
to  pass  an  act  or  a  resolve  bearing  upon  any 
scheme  of  philanthropy  in  which  he  was  interested, 
Whittier  was  a  most  skillful  and  efficient  "  lobby- 
ist," in  the  best  sense  of  that  word.  Though  he 
served  but  a  single  term  in  the  legislature,  and 
after  1837  could  not  have  been  elected,  yet  his  was 
a  familiar  form  in  the  lobby  of  the  State  House 
for  many  years.  He  was  a  shrewd  judge  of  men, 
knew  how  to  touch  their  weak  points,  and  scrupled 
not  to  reach  their  consciences  along  the  line  of 
least  resistance.  He  was  by  nature  and  by  study 
a  practical  politician,  never  taking  the  motto,  "  My 
party,  right  or  wrong,"  but  rather,  "  My  party  in 
preference  to  a  worse  one,"  or,  "  My  party  as  I  am 
trying  to  make  it."  Wendell  Phillips  once  said 
of  him  that  he  was  a  superb  hand  at  lobbying. 
He  never  worked  for  any  personal  advantage,  but 
only  for  a  cause  he  considered  worthy  of  consci- 
entious effort.  His  keen  sense  of  the  ridiculous 
kept  him  from  being  in  the  least  degree  "  cranky  " 
in  his  philanthropy.1 

1  Mr.  Whittier  once  related  this  incident  of  his  early  political 
life  in  Haverhill :  A  drunken  neighbor  of  his  asked  to  be  taken  to 
the  town-house  on  election  day  in  Mr.  Whittier's  wagon,  promising 
to  vote  for  Whittier,  then  a  candidate  for  the  legislature,  if  he 
could  be  thus  accommodated.  As  his  affiliation  had  heretofore 
been  with  the  opposite  party,  Whittier  thought  it  best  to  watch 
him  carefully.  He  could  not  be  prevented  from  stopping  at  a 
liquor  saloon  on  the  way,  and  being  already  drunk  when  he  started, 
became  difficult  to  manage  upon  arrival  at  the  polls.  But  he 
was  not  too  drunk  t:>  determine  to  vote  against  Whittier,  whom  he 
tried  to  shake  off.  He  was,  however,  started  for  the  ballot-box, 


192  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

In  May,  1836,  Mr.  Wliittier  assumed  editorial 
charge  of  the  Haverhill  "  Gazette,"  and  retired 
from  the  position  on  the  17th  of  December  of  the 
same  year.  His  opposition  to  Governor  Everett 
led  to  dissatisfaction  among  some  of  the  Whig 
readers  of  that  paper,  who  did  not  like  the  anti- 
slavery  tone  he  gave  to  their  party  organ.  The 
"  Gazette  "  was  owned  by  Jacob  Caldwell,  husband 
of  Whittier's  older  sister.  To  placate  the  friends 
of  Everett,  Mr.  Caldwell  sold  half  his  inter- 
est in  the  paper  to  Dr.  Jeremiah  Spofford,  of 
East  Bradford,  now  Groveland,  and  it  was  an- 
nounced that  while  Whittier  was  to  edit  the  liter- 
ary and  poetical  departments,  Spofford  was  to  be 
the  political  editor.  Whittier's  hand  is  neverthe- 
less to  be  seen  in  many  anti-slavery  touches  in  the 
editorial  columns,  though  Everett  was  not  directly 
attacked.  The  following  extracts  from  letters  to 
Spofford  show  the  spirit  with  which  Whittier  ac- 
cepted the  situation,  and  the  interest  which  he 
still  had  in  the  success  of  the  Whig  party.  He 
was  at  this  time  living  in  Amesbury,  but  was  con- 
sidering a  plan  of  buying  Caldwell's  interest  in 
the  "  Gazette,"  and  returning  to  his  native  town, 
but  his  abolitionism  proved  an  insurmountable 
obstacle. 

with  the  right  vote  in  his  hand,  and  carefully  supported  by  his 
Quaker  neighbor.  But  at  the  last  moment,  an  opposition  vote 
was  handed  him,  and  Whittier  had  the  mortification  to  see  this 
deposited  in  the  box.  "  Did  not  take  the  man  home,  did  you  ?  " 
Mr.  Whittier  was  asked,  when  he  told  this  story.  "  Oh  yes,  I 
did,"  he  said ;  "  I  promised  his  wife  I  would  see  him  home  safely, 
and  I  had  to  do  it.  I  took  him  home  dead  drunk  in  the  bottom 
of  my  wagon  !  " 


LETTERS   TO  JEREMIAH  SPOFFORD    193 

HAVERHILL,  27th  8th  mo.,  1836. 

Having  a  proof-sheet  of  a  work  I  am  publishing 
in  Boston  l  to  examine  and  alter,  I  suppose  that 
nothing  will  be  gained  by  visiting  Bradford,  be- 
yond what  may  be  by  my  writing.  I  have  received 
a  long  letter  in  relation  to  Governor  Everett  from 
one  of  his  personal  friends,  who  says  that  if  the 
"  Gazette  "  supports  him  after  what  I  have  said,  it 
will  surprise  and  mortify  my  friends  everywhere. 
On  this  point  I  do  feel  as  if  it  would  not  do  for 
me  to  act  inconsistently.  I  should  lower  myself 
in  my  own  estimation,  and  in  that  of  the  public. 
It  seems  to  me  that  there  are  many  advantages 
which  will  result  from  thy  coming  in  as  editor 
after  the  election.  If  we  bend  our  whole  energies 
to  the  Whig  cause,  if  we  fill  our  paper  with 
Whiggism,  and  resolve  to  sink  or  swim  with  it, 
why,  if  that  cause  is  unsuccessful,  we  shall  go 
down  with  it.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  paper 
pursues  the  even  tenor  of  its  way  until  after  the 
election,  on  thy  coming  in  it  can  then,  so  far  as  is 
consistent  with  principle  and  truth,  govern  its 
course  by  the  circumstances  and  result  of  the  great 
struggle.  We  shall  have  a  meeting  here  this 
week  to  choose  delegates  to  Worcester.  I  expect 
Webster  will  be  present  and  speak  on  the  occa- 
sion. I  have  thought  some  of  thy  name  as  a 
candidate  for  elector;  probably,  however,  some 
Salem  man  will  be  designated. 

1  Mogg  Megone. 


194  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

HAVEKHILL,  23d  of  llth  mo.,  1836. 

DEAR  DOCTOR,  —  I  have  just  learned  that  a 
good  deal  of  dissatisfaction  exists  in  this  village 
in  regard  to  my  connection  with  the  "  Gazette." 
Many  say  they  will  not  take  the  paper  so  long  as  I 
am  the  editor.  They  want  a  thorough-going  ex- 
clusive Whig  press.  My  aim  has  been  to  make 
the  paper  as  interesting  as  possible,  and  at  the 
same  time  temperately  advocate  my  sentiments  on 
the  subject  of  slavery.  In  so  doing  I  have  had  no 
compensation  except  $90,  and  the  pay  for  my  ex- 
penses in  circulating  petitions  in  Essex  County. 
I  did  not  expect  to  make  money ;  on  the  contrary, 
I  did  not  by  any  means  consult  my  pecuniary  in- 
terest in  the  matter.  I  am  attached  to  Haverhill, 
and  would  like  to  stay  here.  Of  late,  however, 
some  of  the  Whigs  have  told  Caldwell  that  he 
must  get  rid  of  me,  that  my  abolition  made  me 
indifferent  as  to  politics.  Caldwell  is  uneasy 
about  it,  but  I  cannot  promise  that  next  year  I 
will  go  for  Everett ;  on  the  contrary  I  must  oppose 
him.  Of  the  two  I  prefer  Marcus  Morton.  Situ- 
ated as  we  are  I  have  been  willing  to  sacrifice 
many  of  my  feelings,  but  on  this  subject  I  cannot. 
I  have  had  some  idea  of  buying  CaldwelTs  half 
myself,  but  if  the  Whig  leaders  are  against  me  I 
shall  hardly  have  courage  to  do  it,  much  as  I  wish 
to  permanently  locate  myself  in  this  village.  I 
did  not  before  to-day  understand  that  there  was 
any  particular  opposition  to  me. 


LETTERS   TO  JEREMIAH  SPOFFORD    195 
HAVERHILL,  1st  of  12th  mo.,  1836. 

DEAR  DOCTOR,  —  I  have  felt  rather  unpleas- 
antly about  leaving  the  paper,  and  could  I  con- 
sistently with  what  I  conceive  to  be  my  duty  take 
such  a  course  as  would  be  satisfactory  to  its 
patrons,  I  would  do  so.  ...  In  case  thee  as- 
sume the  entire  control  of  the  editorial  depart- 
ment, it  is  important  that  it  should  not  be  sup- 
posed that  there  is  any  personal  difficulty  between 
ourselves.  The  truth  is,  we  have  always  been 
friends,  and  I  trust  we  always  shall  be  so.  So  far 
as  my  influence  can  go,  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to 
procure  thy  election  as  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Council  this  winter.  As  far  as  I  can  judge,  few  if 
any  of  the  anti-slavery  folks  out  of  town  will  drop 
the  paper  in  consequence  of  my  leaving  it.  Two 
or  three  individuals  in  the  village  will  probably 
discontinue  it.  But  on  the  other  hand  from 
twenty  to  thirty  will  take  hold  of  it.  Our  anti- 
slavery  folks  generally  understand  thee  to  be  a 
friend  of  free  discussion,  although  not  an  aboli- 
tionist, and  that  is  sufficient,  provided  the  paper 
does  not  say  anything  against  them.  Nothing 
ought  to  be  said  publicly  about  my  being  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  paper,  as  it  would  only  irritate 
some  of  my  friends.  For  my  own  part,  I  shall 
have  it  understood,  so  far  as  I  am  able,  that  it  is 
only  a  business  transaction  between  my  brother- 
in-law  and  thyself  or  others. 

In  January,  1837,  he  started  for  Washington, 
where  John  Quincy  Adams,  assisted  by  Caleb 
Gushing,  and  the  entire  Massachusetts  delegation 


196  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

in  Congress,  were  battling  for  the  right  of  peti- 
tion. His  intention  was  to  help  them  in  their  pre- 
paration for  the  debates,  but  when  he  arrived  at 
Philadelphia  he  learned  that  a  despotic  rule  had 
been  passed  cutting  off  debate  and  annihilating  the 
right  of  petition.  He  therefore  gave  up  his  in- 
tended visit  to  Washington,  and  went  to  Harris- 
burg,  to  attend  an  anti-slavery  state  convention. 
Here  he  met  Governor  Ritner,  "  who  alone  of  all 
the  governors  of  the  Union  in  1836  met  the  insult- 
ing demands  and  measures  of  the  South  in  a 
manner  becoming  a  freeman,"  as  he  says  in  his 
preface  to  his  poetical  tribute  to  this  independent 
farmer  and  high-souled  statesman.  The  poem  en- 
titled "  Ritner  "  was  written  immediately  after  his 
return  to  Boston  from  Pennsylvania. 

Massachusetts  had  a  governor  in  1836  who  in 
his  inaugural  address  invoked  "  the  patriotism  of 
all  classes  to  abstain  from  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery,"  and  to  Edward  Everett  at  once 
Mr.  Whittier  made  indignant  reply  :  "  We  can 
neither  permit  the  gag  to  be  thrust  in  our  mouths 
by  others,  nor  deem  it  the  part  of  '  patriotism '  to 
place  it  there  ourselves."  This  letter  fills  five  col- 
umns as  printed  in  the  "  Liberator  "  of  February 
20,  1836.  Its  tone  may  be  judged  from  this  para- 
graph :  — 

"  Is  this  the  age,  are  ours  the  laws,  are  the  sons 
of  the  Pilgrims  the  men,  for  advice  like  this?  .  .  . 
Far  fitter  is  it  for  the  banks  of  the  Bosphorus 
and  the  Neva  than  for  those  of  the  Connecticut 
and  the  Merrimac.  It  is  not  suited  to  our  hard- 
handed  artisans  and  free  farmers.  .  .  .  They  have 


REPLY  TO  EDWARD  EVERETT        197 

seen  demands  gravely  made  by  slaveholding  legis- 
latures and  governors  upon  the  authorities  of  free 
and  sovereign  States  for  the  delivery  of  their 
fellow-citizens  to  torture  and  death,  and  for  the 
passage  of  laws  against  the  liberty  of  speech  and 
of  the  press.  By  things  like  these  has  the  North- 
ern laborer  been  summoned  to  discussion." 

In  reply  to  Governor  Everett's  statement  that 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  provided  for  the 
perpetuity  of  the  institution  of  slavery,  he  quotes 
passages  from  Washington,  Jefferson,  Franklin, 
and  others,  to  show  that  they  looked  for  its  speedy 
extinction.  Then  comes  this  memorable  passage : 

"  George  Washington  was  another  signer  of  the 
Constitution.  I  know  that  he  was  a  slaveholder ; 
and  I  have  not  forgotten  the  emotions  which  swelled 
my  bosom,  when  in  the  metropolis  of  New  England, 
the  Cradle  of  Liberty,  a  degenerate  son  l  of  the 
Pilgrims  pointed  to  his  portrait,  which  adorns  the 
wall,  with  the  thrice-repeated  exclamation,  '  That 
slaveholder  ! '  I  saw  the  only  blot  on  the  other- 
wise bright  and  spotless  character  of  the  Father 
of  his  Country  held  to  open  view,  exposed  by 
remorseless  hands  to  sanction  a  system  of  oppres- 
sion and  blood.  It  seemed  to  me  like  sacrilege. 
I  looked  upon  those  venerable  and  awful  features, 
while  the  echoes,  once  wakened  in  that  old  Hall  by 
the  voice  of  ancient  Liberty,  warm  from  the  lips 
of  Adams  and  Hancock  and  the  fiery  heart  of 
James  Otis,  gave  back  from  wall  and  gallery  the 
exulting  cry  of  '  Slaveholder,'  half  expecting  to  see 
the  still  canvas  darken  with  a  frown,  and  the  pic • 

1  Peleg-  Sprague. 


198  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

tured  lips  part  asunder  with  words  of  rebuke  and 
sorrow.1  I  felt  it,  as  did  hundreds  more  on  that 
occasion,  to  be  a  reproach  and  a  cruel  insult  to  the 
memory  of  the  illustrious  dead.  Did  not  the 
speaker  know  that  the  dying  testimony  of  Wash- 
ington was  against  slavery  ?  " 

Mr.  Whittier  took  occasion,  while  commenting 
upon  the  message,  to  refer  with  cutting  severity  to 
some  pro-slavery  utterances  which  Everett  had 
made  while  he  was  in  Congress.  The  boldness 
and  spirit  of  the  letter  attracted  much  attention, 
and  the  governor  was  greatly  annoyed  by  it.  Until 
they  met  in  the  electoral  college,  in  1864,  Everett 
did  not  again  encounter  his  unwelcome  corre- 
spondent. On  that  occasion  he  came  up  cordially 
to  Whittier,  and  expressed  his  pleasure  that  at  last 
they  were  agreed. 

The  whole  month  of  March,  1837,  Mr.  Whittier 
spent  in  Boston  in  work  among  the  members  of 
the  legislature,  to  secure  the  passage  of  acts  and 
resolves  to  show  that  Massachusetts  did  not  re- 
spond favorably  to  the  inaugural  address  of  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren.  This  message,  by  its  tone  of 
subserviency  to  the  South,  created  great  indignation 

1  The  famous  sentence  of  Wendell  Phillips,  "  I  thought  those 
pictured  lips  would  have  broken  into  voice,  to  rebuke  the  rec- 
reant American,"  was  clearly  plagiarized,  says  Kennedy,  by  an 
unconscious  act  of  memory,  from  the  above  eloquent  passage  by 
Whittier,  written  nearly  two  years  previous  to  the  Faneuil  Hall 
speech  by  Phillips.  Young  Phillips  had  been  mightily  aroused 
by  the  Garrison  mob,  some  months  before  the  date  of  Whittier's 
open  letter  to  Everett,  and  had  resolved  to  devote  his  life  to  the 
cause  of  Freedom.  He  had  undoubtedly,  therefore,  read  Whit- 
tier's  strong  and  manly  letter  to  the  governor,  and  remembered, 
dimly,  the  passage  in  question. 


VAN  BUREN'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS    199 

throughout  the  North,  wherever  the  abolitionists 
had  been  educating  the  consciences  of  the  people. 
Whittier  saw  the  opportunity  to  commit  the  State 
to  anti-slavery  action,  and  promptly  made  the 
effort.  On  the  last  day  of  March  he  wrote  to  his 
friend  Thayer :  — 

"  Just  look  at  old  Massachusetts  !  The  legisla- 
ture is  abolitionized,  the  whole  State  is  coming. 
For  the  last  four  weeks  I  have  been  in  Boston, 
aiding  and  abetting  in  the  plan  of  tumbling  our 
six  hundred  representatives  off  the  fence  upon  the 
abolition  side.  We  have  caucused  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  threatened  and  coaxed,  plead  and 
scolded,  until  we  Ve  got  the  day.  The  Van  Buren 
men  are  persuaded  to  look  to  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  not  to  orders  from  Washington. 
And  they  have  done  as  we  advised :  to  save  them- 
selves they  have  joined  hands  with  the  abolition- 
ists. .  .  .  We  shall  get  a  bill  through,  moreover, 
granting  a  jury  trial  for  fugitive  slaves.  Kantoul, 
the  Van  Buren  leader,  will  make  a  great  effort  for 
it.  Among  those  who  have  been  '  taking  care ' 
of  the  legislature  with  myself,  I  would  mention 
Gardner  B.  Perry,  Dr.  Farnsworth  of  Groton, 
George  Bancroft  of  Springfield,  and  a  number  of 
other  abolitionists." 

The  "  orders  from  Washington,"  to  which  refer- 
ence  is  made  in  this  letter,  were  contained  in  the 
inaugural  address,  in  which  the  President  an- 
nounces that  he  is  "  an  uncompromising  opponent 
of  every  attempt  on  the  part  of  Congress  to  abolish 
slavery,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  against  the 
wishes  of  the  slaveholding  States,"  and  calls  for  a 


200  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

cessation  of  discussion  about  the  matter.  The 
Boston  papers  of  both  parties  opposed  the  intro- 
duction of  the  resolves  favoring  the  rights  of  peti- 
tion and  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District ; 
but,  in  spite  of  them,  Whittier  and  his  little  band 
of  abolitionists  secured  a  unanimous  vote  of  the 
Massachusetts  Senate  in  favor  of  the  resolutions, 
and  there  were  only  sixteen  who  voted  against 
them  in  the  House.  The  Boston  "  Atlas  "  of  the 
day  complainingly  says  that  John  G.  Whittier,  the 
Quaker  poet,  and  others  whom  it  names,  "were 
indiscriminately  mingled  with  the  members  in  the 
Representatives'  Hall  during  the  whole  debate." 
The  journals  that  had  been  angered  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  resolves  were  silenced  by  the  una- 
nimity of  the  vote.  The  bill  securing  jury  trial 
for  runaway  slaves  was  passed  by  both  Houses  with 
scarcely  a  dissenting  voice.  It  was  while  Mr. 
Whittier  was  engaged  in  influencing  the  legislature 
to  pass  the  acts  and  resolves  to  which  reference 
has  just  been  made,  that  he  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  his  friend  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.,  the  Demo- 
cratic leader  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  It 
was  written  from  No.  1  Pitts  Street,  Boston,  on 
the  13th  of  March,  1837  :  — 

"  I  am  fearful  that  I  am  troubling  thee  too  often 
with  the  question  of  slavery,  but  the  deep  interest 
I  feel  must  be  my  excuse.  To  thee,  as  to  a  friend, 
I  have  spoken  freely.  I  am  certain  that  the  reso- 
lutions [favoring  the  right  of  petition  and  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia] 
would  pass  even  without  thy  aid.  But,  if  they  did 
so,  there  would  be  a  party  aspect  given  to  the  mat- 


APPEAL   TO  RANTOUL  201 

ter,  which  I  should  regret  exceedingly.  It  would 
insure,  I  fear,  the  reelection  of  Edward  Everett, 
as  long  as  he  pleased  to  occupy  the  Chair  of  State, 
and  upon  thyself,  as  far  as  Massachusetts  or  New 
England  is  concerned,  the  effect  would  be  injuri- 
ous. No  party  in  the  country  is  now  so  thor- 
oughly organized  and  so  united  as  the  Aboli- 
tionist. Asking  nothing  for  themselves,  and 
contending  only  for  great  principles,  under  the 
impulse  of  duty,  there  is  nothing  but  harmony 
and  unison  among  them.  They  move  in  a  mass, 
and  that  without  concert,  because  they  are  gov- 
erned, under  all  circumstances,  by  the  same  prin- 
ciples of  action.  So  long  as  they  remain  thus 
they  are  invincible. 

"  It  does  seem  to  me  that  the  present  responsi- 
bility of  thyself  in  this  matter  is  very  great.  Thy 
talents,  eloquence,  and  thus  far  steady  devotion  to 
equal  rights,  thy  influence  almost  unbounded  with 
the  administrative  party  of  the  State,  all  combine 
to  render  thy  decision,  whatever  it  may  be,  of  no 
trifling  importance.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
it  now,  the  present  is  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  this 
State.  Thy  course  on  this  question  will  be  a  mat- 
ter of  history.  Never  since  Patrick  Henry  electri- 
fied the  Assembly  of  Virginia  has  there  been  a 
nobler  opportunity  for  advancing  the  cause  of 
righteous  liberty.  What  are  the  paltry  offices 
which  men  contend  for,  which  the  vile,  the  im- 
becile, the  sordid  struggle  for,  as  the  reward  of 
partisan  fraud  and  management,  to  that  which  is 
received  from  a  grateful,  intelligent,  and  virtuous 
people,  not  for  services  rendered  to  themselves, 


202  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

but  for  those  rendered  to  the  cause  of  pure  demo- 
cracy, humanity,  and  truth  I  In  coming  years  the 
greenest  wreath  in  the  memory  of  Jefferson  will 
be  the  record  of  his  sentiments  on  the  subject  of 
slavery.  I  know  that  thy  own  sentiments  are 
similar  to  those  of  Jefferson.  I  feel  assured  that 
slavery,  in  any  form,  is  odious  to  thy  feelings. 
Why  not,  then,  say  so  ;  carry  out  thy  democratic 
principles,  and  insure  the  approbation  of  the  wise 
and  good,  throughout  the  world,  and  for  all  time  ; 
nay  more,  secure  that  self -approval,  that  answer  of 
a  good  conscience,  which,  when  the  exciting  ambi- 
tions and  hopes  of  the  partisan  are  lost,  in  the  hour 
of  sickness,  and  in  the  decline  of  life,  will  be 
dearer  than  any  earthly  honor.  Never  had  any 
one  a  more  excellent  opportunity  of  doing  honor 
to  himself  and  to  the  cause  of  republican  liberty 
than  thyself  at  this  time.  It  would  prove  to  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  that  thy  democracy  is  not 
a  partial  and  time-serving  principle,  but  radical 
and  based  upon  the  equality  of  the  human  family, 
and  zealous  for  the  rights  of  all  classes.  In  a  word, 
it  would  prove  that  to  be  a  friend  of  the  policy 
and  principles  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  as  regards 
other  matters,  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  slavish 
acquiescence  in  his  extraordinary  views  on  the 
subject  of  liberty  and  slavery.  It  would  win  the 
respect  and  command  the  admiration  of  all  parties. 
It  would  disappoint  thy  enemies ;  it  would  in- 
crease the  esteem  of  all  thy  present  friends,  and 
add  to  their  number.  It  would  do  much  for  the 
cause  of  humanity,  and  truth,  and  justice.  May 
we  not  hope  that  it  will  be  done  ?  Excuse  the  lib- 


ANTI-SLAVERY  POEMS  203 

arty  I  have  taken,  and  believe  me  cordially  thy 
friend,  JOHN  Go  WHITTIER. 

P.  S.  Ill  health  prevents  me  from  getting  out 
much  in  the  evening ;  will  it  be  in  thy  power  to 
call  at  this  place  to-morrow  evening  ? 

The  poems  written  by  Mr.  Whittier  during  the 
first  years  of  his  anti-slavery  work,  from  1833  to 
1837,  were  with  few  exceptions  devoted  to  the 
cause  he  had  so  warmly  espoused.  They  were 
published  in  the  "Liberator,"  the  Boston  "Cou- 
rier," the  "Anti-Slavery  Reporter,"  the  "New 
England  Magazine,"  and  the  Haverhill  "  Gazette." 
They  include  "Toussaint  L'Ouverture,"  "The 
Yankee  Girl,"  "Our  Fellow  Countrymen  in 
Chains,"  "  The  Hunters  of  Men,"  "  Song  of  the 
Free,"  "Is  This  the  Land  Our  Fathers  loved," 
"Ritner,"  "O  Thou  Whose  Presence  went  before," 
and  several  poems  not  to  be  found  in  any  collection 
of  his  works.  In  the  "Liberator"  of  September 
3,  1836,  is  a  poem  of  his  "  To  the  Daughters  of 
James  Forten,"  beginning :  — 

"  Sisters !  the  vain  and  proud  may  pass  you  by." 

The  poem  "  Mogg  Megone  "  belongs  to  this  period. 
It  was  published  originally  in  the  "  New  England 
Magazine,"  in  the  numbers  for  March  and  April, 
1835,  and  Mr.  Whittier  never  tried  so  persistently 
and  unsuccessfully  to  suppress  any  other  poem. 
In  the  edition  of  1888  he  succeeded  in  relegating 
it  to  the  appendix.  He  began  writing  it  while  at 
home,  in  the  spring  of  1830,  and  laid  it  aside  when 
he  went  to  Hartford  to  edit  the  "  Review."  The 


204  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

finishing  touches  were  given  to  it  in  1834,  while 
he  was  managing  his  farm  at  Haverhill,  and  busy- 
ing himself  with  the  politics  of  his  county.  It 
probably  would  not  have  been  finished  but  for 
material  which  came  to  his  hand  in  two  books  of 
history l  published  after  some  lines  of  it  had  been 
written.  "  Mogg  Megone "  was  the  first  bound 
volume,  exclusively  of  verse,  ever  issued  by  Whit- 
tier.  It  was  published  in  1836,  by  Messrs.  Light 
&  Stevens,  Cornhill,  Boston,  making  a  tiny  book 
of  sixty-nine  pages,  24mo.  It  was  so  very  modest 
in  its  size  that  it  seems  to  have  escaped  the 
attention  of  reviewers  for  several  months  after 
its  publication.  But  the  "North  American  Re- 
view" for  April,  1837,  contains  an  appreciative 
notice  from  the  pen  of  Professor  C.  C.  Felton, 
which  concludes  with  these  words :  "  He  has  in 
various  forms  displayed  his  power,  and  if  he 
will  choose  a  less  revolting  theme,  and  construct 
his  fable  skillfully,  and  give  to  the  execution  all 
the  finish  of  which  he  is  capable,  he  will  make 
a  poem  that  shall  live." 

In  a  letter  to  Lucy  Hooper,  written  in  August, 
1837,  Mr.  Whittier  says:  "I  send  thee  a  copy 
of  'Mogg  Megone.'  I  was  unable  to  finish  it 
as  I  could  have  wished.  It  is,  in  my  mind,  liable 
to  one  grave  objection.  It  is  not,  I  fear,  calcu- 
lated to  do  good.  But  a  small  edition,  however, 
was  printed,  and  it  is  some  satisfaction  to  believe 
that  it  cannot  do  much  evil.  The  '  North  Ameri- 

1  These  were  Folsom's  History  of  Saco  and  Biddeford,  and 
Williamson's  History  of  Maine,  published  respectively  in  1830 
and  1832. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  WORK  IN  NEW  YORK    205 

can  Keview,'  I  understand,  gave  a  very  favorable 
notice  of  it." 

In  1837,  he  spent  a  few  months  in  New  York, 
acting  as  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Ameri- 
can Anti-Slavery  Society.  He  also  occasionally 
wrote  for  Joshua  Leavitt's  "  Emancipator."  He 
occupied  a  room  in  which  James  G.  Birney,  Theo- 
dore D.  Weld,  Elizur  Wright,  Henry  B.  Stanton, 
and  Joshua  Leavitt  had  desks.  The  editing  of 
the  "  Emancipator "  and  the  "  Anti-Slavery  Ee- 
porter  "  was  but  a  small  part  of  their  work.  They 
wrote  personal  appeals  to  public  men,  distributed 
petitions  to  Congress  against  the  interstate  slave 
trade,  in  favor  of  freedom  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  in  opposition  to  the  annexation  of 
Texas.  They  wrote  tracts,  operated  an  "  under- 
ground railroad  "  for  fugitive  slaves,  and  employed 
lecturers.  There  were  several  wealthy  men  like 
Gerrit  Smith,  Lewis  and  Arthur  Tappan,  and 
Joseph  Sturge  of  England,  who  supplied  a  large 
part  of  the  needed  funds.  Weld  and  Stanton  were 
brilliant  orators ;  Birney,  the  candidate  of  the 
Liberty  party  for  the  Presidency,  wrote  long  and 
elaborate  letters  and  essays;  Elizur  Wright  and 
Leavitt  were  writers  of  sharp  and  pungent  edito- 
rials ;  Whittier  was  sagacious  in  counsel,  and  was 
occasionally  inspired  to  write  a  poem  that  electri- 
fied the  North.  The  state  of  his  health  did  not 
allow  him  to  keep  regular  office  hours,  but  he  came 
and  went  as  he  pleased,  boarding  in  Brooklyn, 
and  crossing  the  ferry  to  reach  the  office  on  Nassau 
Street.  Mr.  Weld  says  that  Whittier  and  he 
were  much  together  in  those  days,  and  held  long 


206  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

discussions  upon  themes  in  which  they  were  both 
interested.  One  summer  evening,  at  about  nine 
o'clock,  they  went  up  to  the  balcony  over  the 
entrance  to  the  New  York  City  Hall,  and  the 
topic  under  discussion  was  so  interesting  to  them 
both  that  they  paid  no  heed  to  the  great  clock 
that  tolled  the  hours  over  their  head,  and  it  was 
nearly  daylight  before  it  had  occurred  to  them 
that  it  was  time  to  seek  their  homes. 

TO   ELIZABETH   H.    WHITTIER. 

NEWPORT,  6th  mo.  14, 1837. 

Thee  hardly  expected  to  hear  from  me  at  this 
place ;  certainly  I  did  not  expect  to  be  here 
when  I  left  Amesbury.  On  reaching  Boston,  I 
found  none  of  the  Portland  people  at  the  con- 
vention, and  after  waiting  a  week  in  Boston  I 
received  a  letter  from  General  [James]  Appleton, 
stating  that,  owing  to  the  present  pecuniary  em- 
barrassments, it  was  impossible  to  obtain  a 
sufficient  number  of  subscribers  to  warrant  the 
undertaking  of  a  paper  in  Portland  at  present. 
Thus  situated,  I  came  on  to  the  Yearly  Meeting, 
and  agreeably  to  the  request  of  Professor  [Elizur] 
Wright,  I  shall  spend  two  or  three  months  with 
him  as  one  of  the  corresponding  secretaries  of 
the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  after  which 
time  there  will  probably  be  an  opening  for  me  in 
Portland  or  Philadelphia.  I  shall  leave  to-day  or 
to-morrow  for  New  York,  and  on  arriving  there 
will  take  an  early  opportunity  to  write  more  fully. 
The  Yearly  Meeting,  at  the  suggestion  of  some 
Philadelphia  Friends,  has  concluded  to  shut  OUT 


LETTERS   TO  ELIZABETH   WHITTIER    207 

meeting-houses  against  anti-slavery  lecturers.  I 
regret  the  step  exceedingly.  Sarah  M.  and  An- 
gelina E.  Grimke*  are  now  in  Boston.  Next  week 
they  go  to  Lynn  and  Salem,  and  next  to  Ipswich, 
Newburyport  and  Amesbury.  They  are  excellent 
speakers,  and  cannot  fail  to  make  a  good  impres- 
sion wherever  they  go. 

TO  THE   SAME. 

NEW  YORK,  4th  of  7th  mo.,  1837. 
I  have  now  been  in  this  city  between  two  and 
three  weeks,  and  shall  perhaps  stay  here  three 
weeks  longer,  or  more.  My  paper  will  not  start 
in  Maine  until  the  Ninth  month,  if  it  does  then,1 
and  I  have  some  doubts  about  its  agreeing  with 
me  to  write  very  steadily,  as  since  the  warm 
weather  I  have  been  troubled  with  my  old  com- 
plaint of  palpitation.  I  am  lounging  away  my 
time  here,  not  closely  applying  myself  to  anything, 
overseeing  the  sending  out  of  petitions. 

There  had  been  a  division  in  the  ranks  of  the 
abolitionists,  and  the  "new  organization,"  which 
included  Whittier,  the  Tappans,  J.  G.  Birney, 
Samuel  E.  Sewall,  H.  B.  Stanton,  Joshua  Leavitt, 
Amos  A.  Phelps,  and  Gerrit  Smith,  favored  politi- 
cal action,  while  Garrison,  and  those  who  adhered 
to  him,  refused  to  recognize  the  possibility  of 
attaining  their  end  without  the  overthrow  of  the 

1  The  plan  of  starting  an  anti-slavery  paper  in  Portland, 
which  he  was  to  edit,  was  given  up  because  of  business  troubles 
in  Maine  growing  out  of  ruinous  land  speculations,  which  made 
it  an  unpropitious  time  for  beginning  the  publication  of  such  a 
paper. 


208  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

Constitution.  From  first  to  last,  as  we  have  said, 
Whittier  never  wavered  in  his  determination  to 
fight  slavery  at  the  ballot-box,  and  he  considered 
it  useless  waste  of  strength  to  tug  at  the  pillars  of 
the  Union,  and  attempt  to  overthrow  the  church 
or  to  carry  along  reforms  for  which  the  time  was 
not  yet  ripe.  To  the  criticism  he  received  from 
his  friends  of  the  "old  organization"  he  made 
temperate  and  good-natured  replies,  reserving  all 
his  sharpest  arrows  for  the  common  enemy. 

It  was  in  1837  that  he  wrote  "The  Pastoral 
Letter,"  called  out  by  the  action  of  an  association 
of  clergymen  which  met  at  Brookfield,  Mass.,  and 
issued  a  letter  to  the  churches  warning  them 
against  discussions  of  "  agitating  and  perplexing 
subjects,"  and  especially  against  the  mission  of  the 
South  Carolina  sisters  Grimke,  which  "threatens 
the  female  character  with  widespread  and  perma- 
nent injury." 

In  1837,  John  Quincy  Adams  wrote  a  series  of 
remarkable  letters  to  his  constituents,  telling  the 
whole  story  of  his  great  fight  in  Congress  for  the 
right  of  petition.  These  letters  were  published  in 
the  Quincy  "  Patriot,"  which  had  a  small  circu- 
lation, limited  to  his  Congressional  district.  As 
Adams  at  this  time  belonged  to  neither  of  the  great 
parties  that  divided  the  country,  none  of  the  party 
organs  copied  these  letters,  the  spirit  and  brilliancy 
cf  which  would  have  insured  their  appearance  in 
every  leading  journal  of  the  country  if  the  journal- 
istic enterprise  of  the  present  time  had  prevailed 
in  those  days.  The  friends  of  liberty  were  not 
willing  that  this  record  of  a  splendid  forensic  con. 


TO  HARRIET  MINOT  209 

test  should  be  thus  smothered.  It  was  decided  to 
publish  the  letters  in  a  pamphlet  for  general  circu- 
lation, and  Mr.  Whittier  was  called  upon  to  edit 
them.  He  went  to  Quincy  and  conferred  with  Mr. 
Adams,  who  was  glad  to  have  added  publicity 
given  to  what  he  justly  regarded  as  the  crowning 
work  of  his  long  and  useful  life.  The  pamphlet 
was  published  by  Isaac  Knapp,  of  Boston,  and  its 
pages  cannot  be  read  even  now  without  such  a 
thrill  as  the  highest  eloquence  and  most  pungent 
satire  impart  to  sympathetic  nerves. 

TO   HARRIET   MINOT. 

NEW  YORK,  8th  mo.  6,  1837. 

I  am  now  boarding  in  the  family  of  Don  F.  Del 
Floys,  a  Spanish  refugee,  whose  wife  is  a  sister  of 
Captain  Charles  Stuart.1  I  see  all  the  French 
and  Spanish  ladies  in  the  city.  As  a  general  thing 
they  are  not  so  beautiful  as  the  American  ladies. 
There  is  more  dignity  and  haughtiness  in  the 
Spanish  ladies  ;  yet  on  acquaintance  they  are  very 
agreeable.  .  .  .  Dr.  Channing  has  written  a  long 
letter  to  Henry  Clay  on  the  Texas  question.  The 
good  cause  of  emancipation  goes  on  with  unpre- 
cedented rapidity.  ...  I  am  sorry  to  learn  that 

is  offended  with  me.     She  is  certainly  wrong. 

I  never  give  my  friends  occasion  for  offense. 
Phrenologically,  I  have  too  much  self-esteem  to  be 
troubled  by  the  opinions  of  others,  and  I  love  my 
old  friends  too  well  to  deny  them  the  gratification, 
if  it  be  one,  of  abusing  me  to  their  hearts'  content. 

1  An  officer  in  the  English  army  who  came  to  this  country  and 
threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  anti-slavery  work. 


210  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

But  I  fear  nothing  from  you  Haverhill  folks  in  the 
way  of  slander  ;  you  never  speak  evil  of  any  one ; 
no  prying  into  the  business  of  others  ;  no  society 
small-talk  ;  no  tea-table  scandals  ;  no  adepts  in  the 
science  of  dissecting  characters ;  all  is  peace  and 
harmony  and  good  will.  .  .  .  Thee  would  not  judge 
perhaps  from  the  tone  of  this  letter  that  my  mind 
has  been  a  good  deal  exercised  of  late  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religious  obligation.  Yet  such  is  the  fact. 
The  prayer  of  Cowper  is  sometimes  in  my  mind, 
"  Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God."  I  feel  that 
there  are  too  many  things  of  the  world  between  me 
and  the  realization  of  a  quiet  communion  with  the 
pure  and  Holy  Spirit.  Why  is  it  that  we  go  on 
from  day  to  day,  and  week  to  week,  in  this  manner  ? 
Alas  for  human  nature  in  its  best  estate.  There 
is  no  upward  tendency  in  it.  It  looks  downward. 
It  is  indeed  of  the  earth. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1837,  while  residing 
in  New  York,  that  Mr.  Whittier  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Lucy  Hooper,  who  was  then  only 
twenty  years  of  age.  She  was  a  native  of  Essex 
County,  and  was  at  that  time  living  with  her 
parents  in  Brooklyn.  Mr.  Whittier  had  a  board- 
ing-place in  the  same  city,  and  was  a  frequent 
visitor  at  the  house  of  the  Hoopers.  He  encour- 
aged the  literary  ambition  of  the  charming  young 
poetess,  who  had  already  published  many  verses, 
and  who  was  considering  the  advisability  of  col- 
lecting them  in  a  book.  The  next  year,  when 
Mr.  Whittier  was  editing  the  "  Pennsylvania 
Freeman,"  he  called  for  and  received  occasional 


TO  LUCY  HOOPER  211 

poems  from  her.  It  was  in  1839  that  one  Au- 
gust afternoon  he  walked  with  her  by  the  river 
of  their  childhood,  an  event  commemorated  in 
the  elegy  he  wrote  on  the  occasion  of  her  death 
in  1841. 

TO   LUCY   HOOPER. 

NEW  YORK,  8th  mo.  21,  1837. 

In  perusing  some  of  thy  brief  and  fugitive 
pieces  of  poetry,  I  have  been  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  it  is  in  thy  power  to  write  a  poem 
of  some  considerable  length,  which  would  be 
worth  infinitely  more  to  thee  and  to  the  litera- 
ture of  the  country  than  all  the  hurried  sketches 
and  "  bits  of  poetry  "  which  thou  and  myself  and 
a  score  of  others  who  might  be  named  have 
ever  written.  The  truth  is,  the  "  small  craft "  of 
poetry  in  which  we  have  indulged  ourselves  is 
not  fitted  for  the  voyage  of  Immortality.  We 
shall  perish,  and  verily  our  works  will  follow  us. 
The  hearts  which  now  know  us  and  love  us  will 
also  soon  cease  to  beat,  and  with  them  our  very 
memories  will  die.  The  utilitarian  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  will  not  heed  whether,  in  treading 
on  our  graves,  he  shakes  the  dust  of  prose  or 
poetry  from  his  feet.  And  after  all  what  matters 
it?  Who  cares  for  the  opinions  of  the  twentieth 
century?  Not  I,  for  one.  But  we  do  all  care 
for  the  opinions  of  the  good  and  the  wise  and 
the  pure-hearted  around  us !  If  we  strive  for  fame, 
or  riches,  or  honor,  it  is  because  we  wish  to 
share  their  smile  with  the  friends  whom  we  love, 
and  in  the  matter  of  poetry,  a  poetical  reputation. 


212  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

If  we  write  at  all,  why  not  use  our  talents  to  the 
best  advantage  ?  Why  not  write  a  poem  upon 
which  we  can  concentrate  all  our  powers  ?  I  have 
long  thought  of  doing  this  myself,  but  I  have 
nearly  abandoned  the  idea.  An  accumulating 
pressure  of  other  matters  compels  me  to  forego 
the  undertaking.  But  what  should  hinder  thee 
from  doing  it  ?  Nothing  that  I  can  conceive  of. 

I  send  thee  with  this  a  poem  by  Mrs.  Maria 
G.  Brooks,  a  Massachusetts  lady.  The  poem 
["  Zophiel,  or  the  Bride  of  Seven  "]  was  written,  I 
believe,  in  the  West  Indies.  It  has  been  repub- 
lished  in  fine  style  in  England,  edited  by,  and 
under  the  sanction  of  Southey.  There  are  some 
very  exquisite  passages,  but  as  a  whole  the  poem 
is  defective  in  plot,  and  full  of  weaknesses  and 
hard,  ungraceful  rhyme.  Yet  the  true  gems  in 
it  are  none  the  less  conspicuous  for  the  foil  of 
bad  taste  and  the  lack  of  general  interest. 

Now  I  do  not  wish  to  flatter  thee;  first,  be- 
cause I  should  despise  myself  for  the  meanness 
of  the  attempt,  and  second,  because  I  know  that 
by  so  doing  I  should  deservedly  forfeit  thy  esteem. 
But  in  perfect  sincerity  allow  me  to  say  that  I 
believe  thee  able  to  produce  within  six  months 
of  this  time  a  poem  which  would  be  received  with 
general  commendation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. Pray  think  of  it !  I  wish  very  much  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  the  walk  proposed  so  long  since, 
but  fear  I  shall  not  find  leisure  before  I  go  to 
New  England.  I  will  try,  however,  and  call 
again  before  I  leave. 


TO  LUCY  HOOPER  213 

TO   THE    SAME. 

BOSTON,  8th  mo.  27,  1837. 

I  did  not  receive  thy  note  until  after  my  return 
from  Brooklyn  the  other  day,  or  I  should  have 
alluded  to  it  when  I  saw  thee.  I  did  not  wish 
to  throw  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  thy  pub- 
lishing thy  fugitive  poems,  but  simply  to  suggest 
the  expediency  of  deferring  their  publication  until 
thou  couldst  have  time  for  the  completion  of 
a  longer  and  more  elaborate  poem.  I  know  it 
would  require  a  good  deal  of  patient  perseverance 
arid  severe  intellectual  toil;  and  for  myself  I 
frankly  confess  that  I  have  not  resolution  to 
attempt  anything  of  the  kind.  Besides,  unless 
consecrated  to  the  sacred  interests  of  religion 
and  humanity,  it  would  be  a  criminal  waste  of 
life,  and  abuse  of  the  powers  which  God  has 
given  for  his  own  glory  and  the  welfare  of  the 
world.  Mere  intellectual  renown  is  valueless.  Do 
the  best  that  we  can,  in  the  matter  of  intellect, 
the  devil  is  wiser  than  any  of  us.  The  humblest 
and  weakest  follower  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Re- 
deemer is  more  to  be  envied  than  a  Voltaire,  a 
Rousseau,  or  a  Byron,  and  the  lowliest  teacher  of 
that  sublime  philosophy  which  "  the  wisdom  of  the 
world  accounteth  foolishness  "  is  wiser  and  better 
than  the  prodigies  of  intellect,  whose  learning  and 
acquirements  only  enable  them,  in  the  words  of 
another,  "  sapienter  descendere  ad  infcrnum" 

Shouldst  thou  conclude  to  publish  a  small  and 
select  volume  of  thy  poems,  I  have  no  doubt  of 
their  success.  They  are  better  than  a  great  pro- 
portion of  Mrs. 's,  although  the  sentiment  and 


214  INITIATION  INTO  POLITICS 

the  moral  are  not  always  so  good  as  hers,  in  a 
religious  point  of  view.  There  is  an  originality 
and  a  freshness  of  poetic  feeling  in  them  which 

cannot  be  found  in  Mrs. 's  writings.    She  says, 

besides,  a  great  deal  too  much  of  "  babies,"  "  dead 
infants,"  "sick  infants,"  "sleeping  infants," 
"  smiling  infants,"  infants  ad  infinitum,  so  that  her 
book  might  not  be  inaptly  termed  "  The  Chronicles 
of  the  Nursery."  This  no  doubt  results  from  the 
fact  that  her  affections  have  all  been  forced  into 
one  channel.  If  I  can  do  anything  to  promote  the 
publication  of  thy  poems,  I  herewith  cheerfully, 
and  grateful  for  the  opportunity  of  so  doing,  ten- 
der my  services.  Please  write  me  thy  intention. 

For  the  coming  fortnight  I  shall  probably  be 
at  Amesbury,  and  should  be  happy  to  hear  from 
thee  at  any  time.  My  health  has  suffered  from 
my  residence  in  New  York, —  a  place  which,  with 
all  due  deference  to  thyself,  I  must  consider  unfit 
for  Christian,  or  heathen  even,  to  dwell  in.  The 
present  is  a  favorable  time,  in  some  respects,  to 
publish.  There  are  few  new  books  in  the  market. 
Remember  me  kindly  to  thy  sisters,  mother,  and 
brother,  and  believe  me,  very  sincerely  thy  friend. 

In  1837,  while  Mr.  Whittier  was  in  New  York, 
Isaac  Knapp,  of  Boston,  publisher  of  the  "  Liber- 
ator," without  consulting  him,  published  a  volume 
of  over  one  hundred  pages,  entitled  "  Poems  writ- 
ten during  the  Progress  of  the  Abolition  Question 
in  the  United  States,  between  the  years  1830  and 
1838.  By  John  G.  Whittier."  This  was  the  first 
edition  of  Whittier's  poems  ever  published. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EDITORIAL    WORK   IN    PHILADELPHIA. 

1837-1840. 

THE  political  and  in  a  measure  the  literary 
interests  of  Mr.  Whittier  had  made  the  editorial 
occupation  a  natural  one,  and  but  for  family  rea- 
sons he  might  have  continued  in  it.  His  devotion 
to  the  anti-slavery  cause  led  to  his  return  to  this 
work.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1837,  he  heeded  a 
call  to  Philadelphia,  and  went  to  the  assistance 
of  the  venerable  anti-slavery  pioneer,  Benjamin 
Lundy,  who  was  editing  the  "  National  Enquirer." 
In  March,  1838,  Lundy,  worn  out  in  the  cause  to 
which  he  had  devoted  his  life,  retired  from  the 
management  of  the  paper,  the  name  of  which  was 
changed  to  "  Pennsylvania  Freeman,"  and  in  the 
issue  of  March  15  Whittier  pledged  the  entire 
devotion  of  his  energies  to  the  cause  of  Universal 
Freedom,  as  he  became  the  responsible  editor. 

In  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Whittier  made  his  home 
again  with  his  good  Haverhill  friends,  the  Thayers, 
and  among  the  Quakers  found  congenial  com- 
panionship in  many  families  ;  one  of  his  steadfast 
friends  was  John  Dickinson,  father  of  Anna  E. 
Dickinson,  who  in  later  years  became  celebrated 
as  a  public  speaker,  and  of  Susan  E.  Dickinson, 
well  known  as  a  writer.  The  last-named  daughter 


216  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

contributes  these  reminiscences  of  Whittier's  Phil- 
adelphia life  :  — 

"  I  saw  him  once,  when,  a  young  child  clinging 
to  my  mother's  hand  on  the  way  home  from 
Twelfth  Street  meeting,  she  said  to  me,  '  Look  at 
the  young  man  walking  with  thy  father ;  that  is 
the  poet,  John  G.  Whittier.'  Young  as  I  was  1 
knew  his  name  ;  for  I  had  heard  from  her  lips 
already  the  story  of  how  some  years  before  she 
had  rushed  bareheaded  from  her  home  on  Arch 
Street,  near  Third,  up  to  Sixth  Street,  as  the  fire 
bells  clanged  out,  and  the  word  came  that  Pennsyl- 
vania Hall  was  mobbed  and  on  fire  ;  and  but  half 
an  hour  before  her  husband  had  left  her  to  join 
Whittier  and  Thomas  Shipley  and  a  few  other 
faithful  ones,  for  the  first  meeting  there  after  the 
dedication.  She  told  how  calm  and  quiet  Whit- 
tier was  outwardly,  looking  on  at  the  destruction 
of  the  hall,  his  office,  and  his  books  and  his  papers, 
and  how  helpful  to  others  in  the  rush  of  the  mob 
and  the  whirl  of  the  flames.  The  late  Edward  M. 
Davis,  son-in-law  of  Lucretia  Mott,  once  wrote  to 
me  that  it  was  difficult  to  give  many  incidents  of 
Whittier's  life  in  Philadelphia ;  he  went  so  little 
into  social  circles,  was  so  quiet,  doing  steadfast 
and  indefatigable  work  on  the  paper,  and  on  com- 
mittees ;  a  great  amount  of  writing,  but  very  little 
public  speaking ;  his  work  was  far  more  prominent 
than  he  was.  Mr.  Whittier  himself  told  me,  in 
1867,  that  my  father  and  he  went  to  Harrisburg 
as  delegates  to  form  the  state  anti-slavery  society, 
and  that  he  was  one  of  the  committee  that  drafted 
the  constitution  of  the  society.  The  time  at  which 


REMINISCENCES  217 

I  mentioned  first  seeing  him  must  have  been  when 
he  stopped  for  two  or  three  days  on  his  return 
from  Washington,  whither  he  was  sent  in  1845  as 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  present  the  remon- 
strance of  Massachusetts  against  the  annexation 
of  Texas.  Perhaps  the  dark,  spirituelle  beauty  of 
his  face  which  stamped  itself  on  my  childish 
memory  was  made  clearer  by  the  likeness  (a 
daguerreotype)  of  him  sent  to  one  of  my  Western 
schoolmates  a  few  years  later,  and  which  kindled 
the  enthusiasm  of  all  the  pupils  over  him  into 
flame.  Two  of  my  classmates  there  were  the 
daughters  of  Joseph  Healy,  who  did  most  of  the 
anti-slavery  printing  and  publishing  in  Philadel- 
phia for  years  ;  and  one  of  my  most  treasured  pos- 
sessions is  the  little  paper-covered  revised  edition 
of  'Moll  Pitcher  and  the  Minstrel  Girl,'  pre- 
sented by  one  of  them.  Among  the  young  women 
to  whom  we  girls  looked  up  with  interest  and  ad- 
miration in  those  days  was  Elizabeth  Lloyd,  Jr., 
author  of  many  beautiful  poems,1  and  there  was 
a  special  glamour  attached  to  her  because  she 
was  understood  to  be  one  of  the  very  few  with 
whom  Whittier  was  really  on  terms  of  warm  per- 
sonal  friendship,  outside  of  his  firm  and  faithful 
comradeship  with  his  anti-slavery  friends.  My 
father  died  suddenly  but  a  few  weeks  after  the 
time  when  he  and  Whittier  walked  from  meeting 
together,  which  explains  why  I  can  tell  nothing 
from  the  lips  of  the  friend  who  was  so  dear  to 
him." 

Some  of   the   Philadelphia   Friends,  who  were 

1  The  best  known  of  these  is  Milton  on  his  Blindness. 


218  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

accustomed  to  hear  the  voices  of  women  raised  in 
their  meetings,  objected  to  the  appearance  on  the 
anti-slavery  platform  of  several  young  women  who 
had  trained  themselves  for  public  speaking  in  a 
lyceum  of  their  own ;  and  one  of  the  young  women 
wittily  said  that  the  conservative  Friends  believed 
that  Paul  meant  to  say  that  women  were  bound  to 
keep  silence  except  in  the  churches!  In  those 
days  Mr.  Whittier  was  accustomed  in  a  humorous 
vein  to  discourage  the  would-be  feminine  orators  ; 
his  real  attitude  is  set  forth  in  this  letter  to  Eliza- 
beth Neall :  — 

TO   ELIZABETH   NEALL. 

1839. 

For  myself,  abolition  has  been  to  me  its  own 
"exceeding  great  reward."  It  has  repaid  every 
sacrifice  of  time,  of  money,  of  reputation,  of  health, 
of  ease,  with  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience,  and 
the  happiness  which  grows  out  of  benevolent  ex- 
ertions for  the  welfare  of  others.  It  has  led  me 
to  examine  myself.  It  has  given  me  the  acquain- 
tance of  some  of  the  noblest  and  best  of  men  and 
women.  It  owes  me  nothing.  So,  then,  two  of 
the  youngest  members  of  the  Women's  Society 
are  to  hold  forth.  .  .  .  Shade  of  the  Apostle 
Paul !  What  is  this  world  coming  to  ?  Never 
mind,  "  I  like  it  hugely,"  as  Tristram  Shandy 
said  of  Yorick's  sermon,  and  would  like  it  better 
to  see  them  wield  in  their  delicate  fingers  the 
thunderbolts  of  abolition  oratory.  As  the  author 
of  John  Gilpin  said  of  the  hero  and  his  horse, 

"  And  when  he  next  doth  ride  abroad, 
•        May  I  be  there  to  see  !  " 


REMINISCENCES  219 

Seriously,  I  see  no  good  reason  why  they  should 
not  speak  as  well  as  their  elders.  "  Let  the 
daughters  prophesy,"  agreeably  to  the  promise 
of  the  prophet  Joel,  and  let  the  doors  be  thrown 
open  to  all  without  distinction  of  sex,  and  then 
another  part  of  the  promise  will  be  verified,  — 
"  the  young  men  shall  see  visions  " !  I  go  the 
whole  length  as  regards  the  rights  of  women, 
however,  although  I  sometimes  joke  a  little  about 
it.  I  am  afraid  it  is  a  besetting  sin  of  mine  to 
do  so  in  reference  to  many  things  in  which  I 
feel  a  sober  and  real  interest.  I  have  repented 
of  it  a  thousand  times,  especially  as  it  gave  those 
who  were  not  intimately  acquainted  with  me  a 
false  idea  of  my  character.  .  .  . 

Of  his  life  in  Philadelphia,  his  cousin,  Ann 
E.  Wendell,  contributes  these  reminiscences :  — 

"  I  can  recall  but  little  of  Greenleaf  's  first  visit 
to  us  in  the  winter  of  1836-1837,  but  the  picture 
of  the  first  evening  is  very  vivid.  I  remember 
his  dignified  entrance,  his  dress  a  light  overcoat 
and  a  sealskin  cap, — there  my  memory  of  that 
evening  closes ;  but  that  he  was  in  a  genial  mood, 
ready  to  enjoy  what  came,  I  judge  from  his  ac- 
cepting an  invitation  from  my  brother  Isaac  to 
visit  him  at  his  home  ten  miles  out  of  town,  and 
to  take  with  him  my  sister  Margaret  and  my 
little  brother  Evert.  The  winter  was  very  cold, 
and  the  sleighing  good,  so  they  were  to  go  in  a 
sleigh.  Greenleaf  became  much  interested  in  tell- 
ing Margaret  some  interesting  story,  and  the  result 
was  an  upset  in  a  snow-drift,  which  was  a  source 


220  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

of  much  merriment  then  and  afterward.  He  came 
several  times,  talked  a  good  deal,  and  was  very 
entertaining.  I  cannot  now  recollect  much  of 
his  conversation,  except  what  he  said  of  his  fear 
of  ghosts,  and  his  dread  of  passing  the  grave-yard. 
We  did  not  see  him  again  until  1838,  when  he 
came  to  edit  the  'Pennsylvania  Freeman.'  He 
was  with  us  a  good  deal  during  the  next  winter. 
I  think  the  portrait  of  him  by  Bass  Otis  was 
painted  at  about  this  time,  and  not  in  1836.  I  rec- 
ollect sitting  on  a  sofa  and  holding  this  portrait 
before  Joseph  Sturge  for  his  inspection,  and  his 
remark,  '  John,  I  do  not  quite  like  it.'  I  do  not 
recollect  the  objection.  I  always  fancied  there 
was  a  similarity  in  a  smile  in  all  the  portraits  by 
Otis,  and  perhaps  he  saw  it  did  not  look  quite 
natural.  But  the  position  was  lifelike.  Otis 
placed  him  at  the  table,  turned  his  attention  to 
something  else,  and  then  addressed  him  a  little 
suddenly  with, '  Mr.  Whittier ! '  When  Greenleaf 
started  up  to  respond,  he  said,  '  Keep  that  posi- 
tion,' and  he  was  so  taken.1  .  .  .  Joseph  Healy  at 
that  time  lived  on  Seventh  Street,  and  his  house 
was  a  gathering-place  for  the  abolitionists.  Green- 

1  It  was  after  this  painting  that  the  engraving  in  the  first  vol- 
ume of  the  edition  of  1888  was  executed.  A  few  years  after  this 
portrait  was  painted,  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia  had  an  anti- 
slavery  bazaar,  and  wished  to  have  an  engraving  of  it  made  by 
Sartain  to  be  sold  at  the  fair.  One  of  them  wrote  to  Mr.  Whit- 
tier,  asking  his  permission,  and  this  was  his  reply  :  "  I  have  no 
great  fancy  for  having  my  face  made  use  of  in  the  manner  thee 
suggests  ;  but  if  it  will  be  of  any  service  to  the  bazaar  it  would 
perhaps  be  foolish  to  object  to  it.  My  heart  has  been  too  long 
devoted  to  the  good  cause  in  which  you  are  laboring  to  allow  me 
to  withhold  my  head  when  it  is  needed." 


REMINISCENCES  221 

leaf  was  there  a  good  deal,  but  I  think  he  boarded 
with  his  old  friend  and  townsman,  A.  W.  Thayer. 
Abolitionism  at  that  time  was  so  blended  with 
transcendentalism  and  ultra-liberalism,  in  both  the 
social  and  religious  point  of  view,  that  the  Ortho- 
dox Friends  of  Philadelphia,  although  fully  believ- 
ing in  the  right  of  abolition,  were  very  shy  of 
joining  in  the  public  movements  of  the  abolition- 
ists. This  threw  Greenleaf  almost  entirely  with 
the  Hicksite  division  of  the  society,  and  he  being 
always  retiring  did  not  soon  make  many  personal 
acquaintances  on  our  side,  although  he  belonged  to 
the  Orthodox  division. 

"  When  Pennsylvania  Hall  was  burned  we  lived 
on  the  same  street,  six  or  seven  squares  from  it. 
Greenleaf  did  not  come  to  see  us  that  night,  as  he 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd  at  the  fire.  There 
were  other  riots  about  that  time.  One  evening  the 
mob  attacked  a  colored  institution  not  far  from  us, 
and  the  police  were  ordered  there.  They  came,  a 
line  of  men  reaching  from  one  side  to  the  other  of 
the  street,  and  stopped  in  front  of  our  house.  An- 
other line  came,  another  and  another,  until  they 
formed  a  solid  square  of  men.  At  a  given  signal 
all  sprang  their  rattles  together,  and  marched  down 
to  the  scene  of  trouble. 

"  One  incident  I  recall,  of  1838.  My  sister  Mar- 
garet entertained  a  small  company  at  our  house, 
and  the  amusement  of  the  evening  was  taking  pro- 
files on  the  wall,  from  the  shadow  cast  upon  a 
paper  pinned  upon  it.  I  have  kept  Greenleaf's 
until  this  time,  and  not  long  ago  pasted  it  on 
black  cloth  and  had  it  photographed.  It  is  like 


222  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

the  old-fashioned  silhouettes,  and  I  think  it  a  per- 
fect likeness.  I  prize  it  for  the  curiosity  of  its 
origin.  When  the  last  collection  of  his  works  was 
made,  I  asked  him  if  he  wanted  this  likeness  en- 
graved; but  he  wrote  to  me  he  had  a  side  face 
taken1  by  William  Gray's  grand-daughter.  I 
suspect  he  thought  it  would  be  a  rather  ridiculous 
affair,  but  I  don't  think  it  is. 

"  Greenleaf  was  with  us  a  great  deal  during  the 
next  two  or  three  years.  I  very  rarely  went  from 
home,  and  was  much  confined  to  the  sofa.  In  the 
evening,  the  centre  table  was  rolled  to  the  sofa  so 
that  I  could  enjoy  the  light.  Greenleaf  often 
came  home  very  weary,  and  seated  himself  at  the 
table,  looking  as  though  he  felt  there  was  nothing 
more  to  do,  and  both  body  and  soul  could  rest. 
That  memory  makes  the  picture  taken  from  Miss 
Gray's  photograph  valuable  to  me,  as  it  looks  as  he 
did  at  such  times,  although  William  J.  Allinson 
said  it  looked  as  though  he  had  never  received  the 
breath  of  life. 

"  He  was  very  uncertain ;  we  could  never  make 
an  engagement  and  be  sure  he  would  be  with  us. 
Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps  Ward,  in  the  '  Century,' 
describes  our  experience  exactly.  He  did  not  like 
little  companies,  where  he  would  be  an  object  of 
particular  interest.  On  one  occasion  he  did,  I 
think,  intend  to  be  present,  and  then  gave  up  the 
intention  ;  but  knowing  how  much  sister  Marga- 
ret would  be  disappointed,  he  sent  the  following 
lines :  — 

1  The  picture  in  the  fourth  volume. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  POEMS  223 

'To  cousin  Margaret  Wendell,  greeting  : 

This  may  inform  thee  that  to-night 
There  '11  be  an  anti-slavery  meeting, 

To  set  the  world  and  so  forth  right ! 
And  I,  bear  witness  all  slaveholders, 

Must  hold  therein  a  lofty  station  — 
A  moral  Atlas  on  whose  shoulders 

Shall  rest  the  ark  of  reformation. 
And  therefore,  cousin  Margaret,  seeing 

My  present  duty  —  pardon  me  ! 
Since  nothing  but  the  world's  well-being 

Shall  keep  me,  dearest  coz,  from  thee. 
'12th  mo.,  12th,  1839.' 

"  The  poem  '  To  a  Friend  on  her  Return  from 
Europe '  was  addressed  to  Elizabeth  Neall  [Mrs. 
Sidney  Howard  Gay] .  The  lines,  in  the  edition  of 
1838,  '  In  the  Commonplace  Book  of  a  Young 
Lady '  were  written  for  my  sister  Margaret,  at 
least  the  prelude  was.  'The  Quaker  of  Olden 
Time '  and  the  poem  '  The  Relic '  were  written 
at  our  house  in  Philadelphia  in  1839.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1840,  Mr.  Whittier  edited  a  small  collection 
of  poems  for  an  anti-slavery  fair,  entitled  'The 
North  Star.'  The  poems  were  contributed  by 
friends  interested  in  the  cause  ;  among  them  were 
John  Quincy  Adams,  James  T.  Fields,  Lucy 
Hooper,  John  Pierpont,  Greenleaf,  and  his  sister 
Elizabeth.1  ...  It  was  his  intention  at  that 
time  to  go  to  the  World's  Convention  held  in  Lon- 
don the  next  summer,  and  we  did  not  know  his 
reason  for  remaining  at  home,  although  aware  that 
he  was  ill  during  the  winter." 

The  following  incident  of  Mr.  Whittier's  resi- 

1  Whittier's  own  contributions  to  the  collection  were  The  Exiles 
and  The  World's  Convention. 


224  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

dence  in  Philadelphia  is  told  by  Mr.  Edwin  H. 
Coates,  who  was  one  of  a  committee  of  twelve 
persons  organized  in  1834,  and  acting  with  a  still 
larger  association,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  fugi- 
tives from  slavery.  One  member  of  this  com- 
mittee was  John  P.  Burr,  a  natural  son  of  Aaron 
Burr.  Mr.  Coates  says  that  when  Mr.  Whittier 
took  up  his  residence  in  Philadelphia  he  came  to 
him  to  learn  the  workings  of  the  "  underground 
railroad  "  :  —  • 

"  Like  all  of  us  he  learned  that  the  great  secret 
of  our  success  was  to  be  cautious,  discerning,  and 
never  to  make  a  mistake.  A  mistake,  a  blunder, 
meant  the  penitentiary,  and  years  of  painful  im- 
prisonment. A  Virginia  slave  named  Douglass 
applied  to  the  committee  for  help  to  get  his  wife 
and  children  into  a  free  State.  We  dispatched 
an  agent  to  Baltimore  to  consult  with  the  vigilance 
committee  there,  and  finally  a  letter  was  sent  to 
the  family  by  an  efficient  female  agent  by  the 
name  of  Butler,  who  worked  her  plans  and  ours  so 
well  that  in  a  short  time  the  little  party  landed  in 
Philadelphia.  At  eleven  o'clock  that  night  there 
came  to  my  house  a  consequential-looking  indi- 
vidual who  handed  me  a  copy  of  the  Washington 
4  Globe,'  at  the  same  time  pointing  to  an  adver- 
tisement containing  a  reward  for  the  recovery  of 
the  runaways,  and  a  full  description  of  each  one. 
As  may  well  be  imagined,  I  began  to  grow 
alarmed.  So  as  soon  as  this  person  had  with- 
drawn, I  started  for  the  residence  of  Whittier, 
and  was  closeted  with  him  for  an  hour.  A  convic^ 
tion  for  complicity  in  this  scheme  meant  persona] 


UNDERGROUND  RAILWAY  225 

injury,  or  at  least  imprisonment  for  a  long  and 
indefinite  term.  Without  coming  to  any  conclu- 
sion as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue  I  went  home 
and  to  bed.  I  know  I  kept  looking  at  the  peni- 
tentiary with  one  eye  and  on  the  God  of  the 
oppressed  with  the  other.  But  it  providentially 
turned  out  all  right,  and  I  had  the  unspeakable 
pleasure  of  soon  meeting  the  family  in  a  secure 
place  and  shaking  hands  with  them  all.  I  then 
with  joy  rushed  to  Whittier's  house,  at  the  still 
hour  of  midnight,  and  called  my  anxious  friend 
out  of  bed.  From  the  room  below  I  cried,  '  Whit- 
tier  !  Whittier  !  the  Douglass  family  is  safe ! ' 
From  his  chamber  came  the  exclamation  :  '  Glory ! 
Hallelujah ! '  —  and  this  is  the  first  time  I  remem- 
ber hearing  a  Quaker  shout.  But  he  did,  and  it 
came  from  his  very  soul.  We  soon  had  barbers 
and  dressmakers  and  others  to  assist  in  changing 
the  personal  appearance  and  effecting  a  complete 
disguise  of  the  determined  slaves,  and  when  they 
left  that  house,  with  their  wigs,  strange  clothes, 
and  other  changes,  they  could  not  have  been 
recognized  as  the  same  party  who  entered  it." 

In  May,  1838,  Mr.  Whittier,  accompanied  by 
his  cousin,  Joseph  Cartland,  visited  Joseph 
Healy's  place  in  Bucks  County,  and  in  a  letter 
from  there  to  a  friend  he  says  in  regard  to  the 
divisions  in  the  Society  of  Friends :  — 

"  Here  as  everywhere  else  in  Bucks  County, 
the  '  heretics '  [Hicksites]  have  the  ascendency  in 
point  of  numbers,  and  I  fear  that  even  those  who 
have  in  some  degree  maintained  their  integrity 
have  not  always  given  evidence  of  soundness  in  all 


226  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

respects.  .  .  .  What  will  it  avail  us  if,  while 
boasting  of  our  soundness  and  of  our  enmity  to 
the  delusion  of  Hicksism,  we  neglect  to  make  a 
practical  application  of  our  belief  to  ourselves  ?  if 
we  neglect  to  seek  for  ourselves  that  precious 
atonement  which  we  are  so  ready  to  argue  in  favor 
of?  I  do  not  undervalue  a  sound  belief.  The 
truth  should  be  held,  but  at  the  same  time  I  be- 
lieve it  may  be  4  held '  in  unrighteousness.  I  do 
not  dare  to  claim  to  be  any  the  better  for  my  or- 
thodox principles.  The  mercy  of  God  is  my  only 
hope.  ...  I  cannot  forbear  to  mention  one  fact 
which  has  come  under  my  notice,  as  showing  that 
prejudice  against  color  is  not  confined  to  human 
bipeds.  A  hen  at  this  place  has  disowned  two  of 
a  fine  brood  of  chickens  who  happen  to  be  black ! 
Let  this  be  communicated  to  Elliott  Cresson 
[an  agent  of  the  Colonization  Society]." 

Notwithstanding  his  well-known  abolition  senti- 
ments, Mr.  Whittier  was  invited  to  contribute  to 
the  first  number  of  the  "  Democratic  Beview," 
published  at  Washington,  October,  1837.  His 
poem  "  Palestine "  appeared  in  that  number, 
which  also  contained  William  Cullen  Bryant's 
"  The  Battle-Field."  To  the  second  number  he 
contributed  "  The  Familist's  Hymn,"  and  there- 
after for  nearly  ten  years  he  sent  to  the  "  Ke- 
view  "  most  of  his  best  work. 

Busy  as  Mr.  Whittier  was  with  his  work  in  the 
fields  of  philanthropy  and  reform,  while  in  Phila- 
delphia, he  then  laid  a  plan  that  the  state  of  his 
health  did  not  permit  him  to  execute,  for  a  literary 
undertaking  of  considerable  magnitude,  the  exact 


LITERARY  PLANS  227 

nature  of  which  cannot  now  be  known.  But 
among  his  papers  is  found  a  letter  from  an  inti- 
mate literary  friend  of  his  which  gives  some  hint 
of  it.  This  friend  writes :  — 

"  I  am  delighted  with  thy  idea ;  thou  givest  form 
and  substance  to  a  vague  desire  of  seeing  some- 
thing like  a  corner-stone  laid  for  a  Quaker  temple 
of  literature.  Thou  art  the  man  to  undertake  it. 
...  I  have  never  seen  the  Wordsworth  sonnets 
alluded  to,  but  will  look  at  them  to  understand 
thy  plan.  Thy  idea  only  needs  the  setting  of  J. 
G.  Whittier's  poetry  to  make  it  the  richest  jewel 
in  his  crown  of  fame.  But  I  would  have  thee  lay 
it  by,  uncut  and  unpolished,  till  restored  health 
and  the  quiet  occupation  of  a  home  life  will  allow 
thee  to  work  upon  it,  without  paying  the  price 
which  has  been  the  penalty  of  too  many  of  thy 
literary  labors." 

Slave-hunters  were  often  following  their  prey 
into  Pennsylvania  in  those  days,  and  many  in- 
stances are  given  in  the  newspapers  of  the  time  of 
free  colored  people  being  kidnapped  and  taken  to 
the  Southern  States,  either  without  giving  them  a 
chance  to  prove  their  right  to  freedom  in  the 
courts,  or  by  false  swearing  as  to  their  identity. 
Mr.  Whittier  called  attention,  in  the  following 
paragraph  in  the  "  Freeman,"  to  what  he  properly 
called  "  a  desecration  of  the  Hall  of  Independ- 
ence " :  — 

"  It  may  not  be  generally  known  to  our  readers 
that  the  building  in  which  our  National  Independ- 
ence was  first  proclaimed  is  not  unfrequently 
devoted  to  the  vile  purpose  of  trying  colored 


228  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Americans  charged,  in  the  quaint  language  of  a 
New  York  mechanic,  with  having  been  4  born  con- 
trary to  the  Declaration  of  '76,'  and  that  from  its 
doors  many  a  poor  wretch  has  been  borne  away 
into  helpless  bondage.  Our  indefatigable  friend, 
Samuel  Webb,  of  Philadelphia,  lately  presented  a 
petition  to  the  city  council,  praying  that  the  build- 
ing wherein,  in  the  year  1776,  was  proclaimed  to 
an  admiring  world  the  sublime  truth  that  all  men 
are  created  equal,  may  no  longer  be  prostituted  to 
the  purpose  of  sending  men,  women,  and  children, 
unconvicted  of  crime,  into  hopeless,  helpless,  end- 
less bondage,  a  purpose  inconsistent  with  the  uses 
to  which  that  building  should  be  applied,  which 
was  selected  by  the  founders  of  the  Republic  in 
which  to  'proclaim  Liberty  throughout  the  land, 
and  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof.'  The  memo- 
rial was  presented  to  the  council,  and  it  was 
respectfully  received  and  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee on  city  property.  What  action  has  been 
taken  on  it  we  have  not  learned.  The  first  trial 
of  a  man  charged  with  being  a  chattel,  at  which 
we  were  ever  present,  was  held  not  long  ago  in 
that  very  hall !  " 

He  goes  on  to  tell  of  a  respectable-looking  man, 
who  asserted  his  right  to  freedom,  being  delivered 
to  slave-hunters  from  Maryland,  their  word  being 
taken  as  sufficient  evidence  that  he  was  a  slave 
who  had  escaped  from  his  master.  The  justice 
decided  against  him,  and  at  once,  in  that  sacred 
hall,  one  of  the  slave-hunters  drew  from  his  pocket 
a  pair  of  handcuffs  and  took  him  away  in  triumph. 
It  was  to  arouse  a  people  who  had  become  accus* 


EDITORSHIP   OF  THE  "FREEMAN"    229 

tomed  to  such  scenes,  to  the  wickedness  and  incon- 
sistency of  permitting  them  to  happen  in  a  free 
country,  that  Mr.  Whittier  was  now  devoting  all 
his  energies.  His  connection  with  the  "  Freeman  " 
during  the  years  1838-39  was  interrupted  by  ex- 
cursions to  western  Pennsylvania,  to  New  York, 
and  to  his  home  in  Massachusetts ;  at  times  he  was 
incapacitated  for  work  by  serious  illness.  Very 
few  of  his  poems  appear  in  the  "  Freeman  "  during 
these  two  years  of  hard  work,  harassed  by  contin- 
uous invalidism.  In  the  second  number  after  he 
took  charge  appeared  the  pathetic  "Farewell  of 
a  Virginia  Slave  Mother  :  "  — 

"  Gone,  gone,  sold  and  gone 
To  the  rice-swamp  dank  and  lone." 

The  other  poems  of  this  period  are  "  The  Fami- 
list's  Hymn,"  which  he  copied  into  his  own  paper 
from  the  "  Democratic  Review ; "  a  New  Year's 
Address  in  which  he  severely  lashed  C.  G.  Ather- 
ton,  of  New  Hampshire,  author  of  the  "  gag  rule  " 
in  Congress  ;  the  ode  read  at  the  opening  of  Penn- 
sylvania Hall;  a  philippic  against  Governor 
Porter  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  inaugural  address 
took  strong  grounds  against  the  anti-slavery  agita- 
tion, and  recommended  a  law  to  punish  sedition ; l 

1  This  poem,  published  February  28,  1839,  does  not  appear 
in  his  collected  works.  The  physician  named  in  the  following 
stanza  of  it  was  Dr.  Bartholomew  Fussell,  of  Chester  County,  an 
active  abolitionist :  — 

"  Go  hunt  sedition !    Search  for  that 

In  every  pedlar's  cart  of  rags  ; 
Pry  into  every  Quaker's  hat 

And  Dr.  FusselPs  saddle-bags, 
Lest  treason  wrap,  with  all  its  ills, 

Around  his  powders  and  his  pills." 


230  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

"  Lines  on  Eeceiving  a  Cane,"  made  from  wood- 
work of  Pennsylvania  Hall,  which  the  fire  had 
spared ;  and  a  poem  suggested  by  being  present  at 
the  trial  of  a  fugitive  slave  in  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity of  Independence  Hall,  entitled  "  Republican 
Man-Robbery."  The  slave  referred  to  in  the  last- 
named  poem  was  handcuffed  in  the  presence  of  the 
court  and  spectators  and  sent  South.  These,  with 
the  hymn  "  Worship,"  are  the  only  verses  of 
Whittier's  that  appeared  in  the  "  Freeman  "  dur- 
ing the  two  years  he  conducted  it. 

He  refused  to  discuss,  or  to  allow  his  corre- 
spondents to  dwell  upon,  political,  religious,  or  re- 
form topics  not  bearing  directly  upon  the  main 
object  of  his  paper.  To  a  correspondent  who  asked 
him  to  take  up  the  cause  of  Peace  he  replied :  — 

"  We  will  not  use  the  funds  collected  from  per- 
sons of  all  sects  and  parties  and  opinions  for  the 
sole  and  express  object  of  promoting  the  abolition 
of  slavery  for  other  purposes.  Common  honesty 
forbids." 

On  another  occasion,  he  illustrated  the  same 
policy  with  the  following  parable  :  — 

"  When  Anthony  of  Bourbon,  during  the  French 
King's  minority,  held  the  regency  of  France,  he 
informed  the  Danish  ambassador  that  he  hoped 
in  a  short  time  to  procure  a  free  passage  for  the 
gospel  throughout  France.  The  ambassador,  a 
zealous  Lutheran,  expressed  his  pleasure,  but 
hoped  that  Luther's,  not  Calvin's,  doctrines  might 
pass  current.  '  Luther  and  Calvin,'  answered  the 
Regent,  '  agree  in  forty  points,  and  differ  but  in 
one.  Let  those  therefore  that  follow  the  tenets  of 


TWO  ANTI-SLAVERY  CONVENTIONS    231 

those  two  unite  their  strength  against  the  common 
enemy,  and  at  better  leisure,  in  a  more  convenient 
season,  compound  their  own  differences.'  " 

Early  in  May,  1838,  Mr.  Whittier  attended  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society  in  New  York,  where  he  offered  a  resolu- 
tion that  led  to  an  animated  debate.  This  reso- 
lution advised  members  and  agents  of  the  society 
not  to  rely  upon  physical  force  for  protection 
against  the  violence  of  their  enemies.  There  was 
a  small  majority  against  this  proposition.  He  re- 
turned to  Philadelphia  in  season  to  see  his  office 
destroyed  by  the  mob  of  May  17,  1838,  spent  a 
week  in  straightening  out  matters,  and  then 
started  for  Boston,  where  he  attended  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  New  England  Anti-Slavery  Soci- 
ety, and  was  a  member  of  the  business  committee. 
During  his  absence  he  sent  letters  to  the  "  Free- 
man." The  New  England  convention  was  held  in 
Marlboro  chapel,  and  a  mob  gathered  as  in  Phila- 
delphia, threatening  to  destroy  the  hall,  but  the 
mayor  promptly  took  measures  to  protect  the  con- 
vention. Mr.  Whittier  says  of  the  Marlboro 
chapel  that  it  was  nearly  equal  in  size  and  beauty 
to  Pennsylvania  Hall.  He  describes  a  visit  on 
a  June  day  to  the  ruins  of  the  Ursuline  convent 
in  Charlestown,  which  was  destroyed  by  a  mob 
in  1834.  He  says :  "  The  stone  literally  '  cries 
out  from  the  wall,'  and  the  scorched  timber 
answers  it.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  let  the  walls 
of  our  beautiful  Hall  remain  like  those  of  the 
Charlestown  convent,  a  monument  and  a  warn- 
ing ?  "  He  returned  to  his  work  in  Philadelphia, 


232  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

the  last  week  in  June.  Fortunately  the  printing, 
office  of  the  "  Freeman  "  was  not  in  the  building 
that  had  been  destroyed  by  the  populace,  and  the 
publication  of  the  paper  was  not  interrupted. 

Pennsylvania  Hall  was  the  largest  and  finest 
edifice  of  its  kind  in  Philadelphia.  It  had  been 
built  by  an  association  of  citizens,  at  a  cost  of 
$43,000,  that  they  might  have  a  room  in  which 
the  principles  of  liberty  and  equality  of  civil  rights 
could  be  fully  discussed,  and  the  evils  of  slavery 
portrayed.  The  dedicatory  exercises  had  been  in 
progress  three  days,  with  crowded  audiences  in 
attendance ;  addresses  had  been  delivered  by 
David  Paul  Brown,  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
Arnold  Buffum,  Angelina  Grimke  Weld,  and 
others;  letters  read  from  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  William  Jay,  and  Gerrit  Smith ; 
and  also  an  ode  written  for  the  occasion  by  John 
G.  Whittier.  There  were  threats  of  violence  from 
a  rabble  in  the  streets,  incited,  it  is  said,  by  South- 
ern men  sojourning  in  the  city.  On  the  evening 
of  the  third  day,  May  16th,  while  Garrison  was 
addressing  a  woman's  meeting,  the  windows  were 
broken  by  stones,  but  the  inner  blinds  prevented 
injury  to  the  audience.  Mrs.  Weld,  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  delivered  an  eloquent  address  in 
the  midst  of  pauses  in  the  tumult,  and  Lucretia 
Mott  and  Maria  W.  Chapman,  by  the  grace  and 
dignity  of  their  presence,  and  the  discretion  of 
their  speech,  prevented  an  outbreak  of  violence, 
which  was  threatened  in  the  crowded  hall.  Abby 
Kelley,  of  Lynn,  on  this  occasion  made  her  first 
public  address.  She  said  :  — 


PENNSYLVANIA   HALL  233 

"  It  is  not  the  crashing  of  those  windows,  nor 
the  maddening  rush  of  those  voices,  that  calls  me 
before  you.  Those  pass  unheeded  by  me.  But  it 
is  the  small  voice  within,  which  may  not  be  with- 
stood, that  bids  me  open  my  mouth  for  the  dumb, 
that  bids  me  plead  the  cause  of  God's  perishing 
poor." 

When  the  meeting  adjourned,  the  women  passed 
unharmed  through  the  angry  mob  that  blocked 
the  streets  outside.  The  next  morning,  a  crowd 
again  assembled  in  the  streets,  and  Daniel  Neall, 
president  of  the  managers  of  the  hall,  called  upon 
the  mayor  for  protection.  The  mayor  replied : 
"  It  is  public  opinion  that  makes  mobs,  and  ninety- 
nine  out  of  a  hundred  of  those  with  whom  I  con- 
verse are  against  you."  The  city  solicitor  gave 
orders  to  the  police  not  to  arrest  a  single  man. 
Placards  had  been  posted  calling  for  mob  violence. 
The  day  passed,  and  nothing  was  done  by  the 
authorities  to  insure  order.  In  the  evening  there 
were  fifteen  thousand  persons  assembled  in  the 
streets.  The  mayor  gave  notice  that  he  would 
disperse  the  mob,  if  he  could  have  possession  of 
the  building.  The  keys  were  at  once  given  him, 
and  he  made  this  singular  speech :  — 

"  There  will  be  no  meeting  here  this  evening. 
This  house  has  been  given  up  to  me.  The  man- 
agers had  the  right  to  hold  their  meeting,  but  as 
good  citizens  they  have  at  my  request  suspended 
their  meeting  for  this  evening.  We  never  call  out 
the  military  here.  I  would,  fellow-citizens,  look 
upon  you  as  my  police,  and  I  trust  you  will  keep 
order.  I  now  bid  you  farewell,  for  the  night!  " 


234  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

The  mob  gave  three  cheers  for  their  friend 
the  mayor,  and  commenced  the  attack  as  soon  as 
he  was  gone.  The  doors  were  forced  open,  the 
papers  from  Mr.  Whittier's  editorial  room,  the 
window-blinds,  and  other  inflammable  materials 
were  piled  upon  the  speaker's  platform  in  the 
large  hall  above.  They  were  set  on  fire,  the  gas 
was  turned  on,  and  in  a  few  hours  only  the  black- 
ened walls  of  the  beautiful  building  were  standing. 
The  fire  department  was  called  out,  but  the  mob 
prevented  a  drop  of  water  from  being  thrown 
upon  the  flames.  They  were  allowed  to  save  only 
adjoining  property.  With  a  change  of  dress  to 
avoid  recognition  and  assault,1  Mr.  Whittier  was 
active  during  the  fire  in  saving  what  he  could  from 
his  office,  which  was  in  the  lower  story.  His  paper 
went  to  press  early  the  next  morning,  with  this 
brief  account  of  the  outrage  from  his  pen :  — 

"  18th  of  Fifth  month,  half  past  seven  o'clock. 
—  Pennsylvania  Hall  is  in  ashes !  The  beautiful 
temple  consecrated  to  Liberty  has  been  offered  a 
smoking  sacrifice  to  the  Demon  of  Slavery.  In 
the  heart  of  this  city  a  flame  has  gone  up  to 
Heaven.  It  will  be  seen  from  Maine  to  Georgia. 
In  its  red  and  lurid  light,  men  will  see  more 

1  Mr.  Whittier  went  out  to  visit  his  office,  found  an  excited 
multitude  in  the  street,  and  knowing  that  his  life  was  imperiled 
if  he  was  recognized,  went  to  the  house  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Par- ' 
rish,  put  on  a  wig1  and  a  long  white  overcoat,  and  again  ventured 
into  the  midst  of  the  mob.  It  added  to  his  security,  that  having 
resided  in  Philadelphia  only  a  few  months,  he  was  not  much 
known  outside  the  circle  of  his  friends.  When  his  office  was 
being  sacked,  he  went  in  with  the  crowd  and  secured  some  things 
be  wished  to  save  from  destruction. 


PENNSYLVANIA   HALL  BURNED        235 

clearly  than  ever  the  black  abominations  of  the 
fiend  at  whose  instigation  it  was  kindled.  .  .  .  We 
have  no  time  for  comment.  Let  the  abhorred 
deed  speak  for  itself.  Let  all  men  see  by  what  a 
frail  tenure  they  hold  property  and  life  in  a  land 
overshadowed  by  the  curse  of  slavery." 

The  convention  that  had  been  holding  its  annual 
meeting  in  the  hall  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  18th,  to  elect  officers  and  transact  other 
business.  The  meeting  was  held  according  to 
adjournment,  and  its  business  transacted  in  the 
open  street,  in  front  of  the  smoking  ruins,  and 
surrounded  by  a  mob  not  yet  satisfied  with  vio- 
lence, though  cowed  into  silence  for  the  time  by 
the  dignity  and  solemnity  of  the  proceedings. 
Mr.  Whittier  took  part  in  this  meeting,  to  sustain 
a  resolution  he  had  offered  to  the  effect  that  the 
right  of  suffrage  should  be  held  sacred  to  the  cause 
of  freedom,  and  votes  withheld  from  candidates 
opposed  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  Congress,  who  encouraged  or  in  any 
way  sustained  mob-law  in  its  attempts  to  put  down 
freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  or  favored  the 
disfranchising  of  colored  citizens. 

The  excitement  in  the  city  did  not  subside  for 
several  days.  Outrages  were  frequent  against 
innocent  negroes,  and  against  newspapers  and 
individuals  that  ventured  to  oppose  the  mob-spirit. 
On  the  evening  of  the  18th  the  rioters  attacked 
and  set  fire  to  a  new  building  intended  as  a 
"  Shelter  for  Colored  Orphans,"  and  the  next 
day  spent  their  fury  on  a  Bethel  church  belonging 
to  colored  people.  The  office  of  the  "Public 


236  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Ledger  "  was  threatened,  because  it  had  advocated 
free  discussion,  but  preparations  for  defense  had 
been  made,  and  the  mob  did  not  venture  upon  an 
attack.  The  governor  of  the  commonwealth,  to 
whom  Whittier  had  the  year  before  addressed  the 
poem  "  Ritner,"  promptly  issued  a  proclamation 
expressing  the  deepest  regret  that  the  soil  of  Penn- 
sylvania had  been  disgraced  by  acts  of  lawless 
riot,  and  offering  a  reward  of  $500  for  the  appre- 
hension and  conviction  of  each  and  every  person 
engaged  in  the  outrage.  This  action  shamed  the 
mayor  into  issuing  a  similar  proclamation,  but  he 
took  pains  to  word  it  so  that  only  the  person  who 
set  the  fire  was  to  be  apprehended. 

The  jury  of  inquiry  to  which  was  referred  the 
matter  of  damages  the  county  would  be  required 
to  pay  on  account  of  the  destruction  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Hall  were  three  years  in  making  up  their 
decision.  They  reported  in  1841  that  the  loss 
amounted  to  $33,000.  The  value  of  the  lot  was 
from  110,000  to  115,000.  The  lot  was  eventually 
sold  to  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows,  by  which  a  hall 
for  their  own  purposes  was  erected  and  dedicated 
in  1846. 

Reference  has  been  made  above  to  an  address 
made  by  Mrs.  Weld,  a  native  of  South  Carolina. 
It  was  a  singular  episode  of  those  exciting  days 
that  the  marriage  of  Angelina  Grimke*  to  Mr. 
Weld  took  place  the  night  before  the  burning  of 
the  hall.  Miss  Grimke*  was  a  Quakeress  who  had 
freed  her  slaves,  and  was  delivering  eloquent  abo- 
lition addresses  at  the  North.  Mr.  Whittier,  then 
editor  of  the  "  Freeman,"  was  invited  to  the  wed* 


LETTER    TO   CALEB   GUSHING          237 

ding,  which  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of  the 
foremost  anti-slavery  agitators  in  the  country,  Mr. 
Garrison  included.  But,  as  Miss  Grimke  was 
marrying  "  out  of  society,"  an  orthodox  Friend  like 
Mr.  Whittier  could  not  lend  his  countenance  to  the 
wedding  by  assisting  at  the  ceremony.  He  there- 
fore was  absent,  but  compromised  his  orthodoxy 
by  escorting  a  young  lady  to  the  house,  and  the 
next  morning  he  called  again  at  the  door  with  a 
congratulatory  poem  he  had  written  during  the 
night !  Both  bride  and  groom  were  numbered 
among  his  dearest  friends. 

The  burning  of  Pennsylvania  Hall  was  but  one 
sign  of  the  terrible  struggle  which  was  at  hand. 
How  deeply  Whittier  was  moved,  and  how  in- 
stinctively he  sought  the  use  of  political  instru- 
ments, will  be  seen  from  the  two  letters  which 
follow :  — 

TO  CALEB  GUSHING. 

PHILADELPHIA,  3d  6th  mo.,  1838. 

In  regard  to  some  political  queries  in  thy  letter 
of  last  spring,  touching  the  course  of  the  abolition- 
ists in  the  presidential  contest,  I  will  answer 
briefly.  The  abolitionists  will  not  lend  any  sup- 
port to  Van  Buren.  The  Clay  resolutions  have 
cost  him  the  votes  of  thousands.  Yet  even  they 
will  not  satisfy  the  South.  He  will  be  pressed  to 
commit  himself  entirely  to  the  interest  of  slavery. 
He  will  be  required  to  write  another  North  Caro- 
lina letter,  a  la  Van  Buren.  A  veto  pledge  will 
be  required.  Now  will  Henry  Clay  do  this  ?  —  our 
Henry  Clay,  the  man  we  have  all  loved  and 


238  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

honored  and  forgiven  —  will  he  stoop  to  meanness 
so  ineffable  ?  I  should  greatly  prefer  him  to  Van 
Buren  or  General  Harrison.  But  his  course  in 
the  Senate  has  surprised  and  grieved  me.  Our 
friends  in  Vermont,  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts, 
New  York,  Michigan,  and  Ohio  are  not  yet  wholly 
prepared  to  give  him  up.  But  a  single  further 
"  bowing  of  the  knee  "  to  slavery  will  drive  them 
from  him.  The  extra  ounce  will  break  the  camel's 
back.  As  it  is  now,  Henry  Clay  stands  tolerably 
well  in  the  South.  The  extracts  from  the 
"  Emancipator  "  and  from  my  paper,  commenting 
severely  on  his  course,  have  been  industriously 
circulated  at  the  South  by  his  friends,  in  order 
to  prove  that  he  is  regarded  by  the  abolitionists 
as  their  sworn  enemy.  They  have  been  (as  I 
anticipated  they  would)  of  essential  service  to  his 
cause. 

Let  him,  if  he  has  any  regard  for  his  former 
professions,  to  opinions  of  the  wise  and  good  all 
over  the  world,  and  to  the  suffrages  of  the  people 
of  the  free  States,  make  no  further  effort  to  con- 
ciliate the  slaveholder.  I  say  advisedly,  and  from 
personal  interviews  and  correspondence  with  abo- 
litionists all  over  the  country,  that  they  will  have 
no  more.  Has  it  come  to  this,  that  even  to  be  a 
slaveholder  and  a  colonizationist  is  not  enough  to 
satisfy  the  slavery  interest!  What  then  ought 
the  free  North  to  demand  of  a  candidate  for  her 
suffrage  ?  What  ought  abolitionists,  whose  lives 
and  liberty  may  be  at  stake  on  the  issue  of  the 
question,  to  ask? 


A    VOLUME   OF  POEMS  239 

TO  J.  E.  FULLER,  BOSTON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  8th  mo.,  16,  1838. 

Our  cause  here  is  slowly,  and  against  unnumbered 
obstacles,  going  ahead.  You  in  New  England 
have  got  ^ro-slavery  to  contend  with ;  we  have  got 
into  a  death-grapple  with  slavery  itself.  They 
leave  no  stone  unturned  to  put  us  down.  The 
clergy  of  all  denominations  are  preaching  against 
us.  The  politicians  are  abusing  us  in  their  filthy 
papers ;  and  dirty  penny  sheets,  with  most  outra- 
geous caricatures  of  Garrison,  Thompson,  Angelina 
Grimke  Weld,  are  hawked  daily  about  the  streets. 
But  we  shall  go  ahead  nevertheless.  We  are 
slow-moulded,  heavy-sterned,  Dutch-built,  out 
hereaway ;  but  when  once  started  on  the  right 
track,  there  is  no  backing  out  with  us.  The  abo- 
litionists of  old  Pennsylvania  are  of  the  right 
material ;  many  of  them  don't  believe  in  the  devil, 
and  those  who  do  are  n't  afraid  of  him.  I  admire 
and  honor  their  stern  moral  courage,  in  manfully 
maintaining  their  ground  against  a  fiendish  and 
bitter  opposition. 

Mr.  Whittier,  much  broken  in  health,  returned 
to  his  home  in  Massachusetts,  in  October,  1838, 
took  a  hand  in  the  Congressional  election,  and  con- 
tinued editorial  work  upon  the  "  Freeman,"  send- 
ing his  articles  by  mail,  until  April,  1839,  when 
we  find  him  again  in  Philadelphia.  During  his 
absence,  early  in  November,  a  small  volume  of  his 
poems  was  issued  by  Joseph  Healy,  the  financial 
agent  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 
It  was  a  book  of  180  pages,  half  of  it  devoted  to 


240  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

poems  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  the 
remaining  pages  filled  with  selections  from  his 
miscellaneous  works.  There  are  fifty  poems  in  this 
collection,  none  of  them  copied  from  "The  Le- 
gends of  New  England,"  and  only  eleven  of  them 
to  be  found  in  the  edition  of  his  complete  works 
published  just  fifty  years  afterward.  The  volume 
is  dedicated  to  Henry  B.  Stanton,  "  as  a  token  of 
the  author's  personal  friendship,  and  his  respect 
for  the  unreserved  devotion  of  exalted  talents  to 
the  cause  of  humanity  and  freedom."  The  poems 
in  this  volume  were  collected  and  arranged  by  Mr. 
Whittier  during  the  summer  of  1888.  Reference 
to  it  is  made  in  this  letter  to  his  sister,  at  Ames- 
bury,  written  August  3,  1838  :  — 

"  What  I  want  of  thee  is  (if  thee  can  do  it)  to 
send  by  mail  copies  of  '  The  Fratricide '  and 
4  The  Pharisee.'  An  edition  of  my  poetry  is  pub- 
lishing in  this  city,  and  I  want  them  very  much. 
...  My  paper  is  beginning  to  attract  attention, 
and  I  should  not  think  it  strange  if  it  got  pretty  es- 
sentially mobbed  before  the  summer  is  out.  The 
colonizationists  can  set  on  the  dog  of  the  mob  just 
when  they  choose.  I  wish  I  could  escape  from 
the  duties  of  an  editor  for  a  month  or  so.  My 
health  needs  it.  I  may  go  out  into  the  country  a 
while,  if  I  can  get  anybody  to  supply  my  place. 
Last  evening  I  had  a  delightful  walk  about  one 
mile  and  a  half  out  of  the  city  to  the  Fairmount 
water  works,  with  a  company  of  '  young  friends.' 
It  is  a  beautiful  place ;  nature  has  done  much,  but 
art  infinitely  more  :  fountains  are  made  to  gush 
up  from  the  rocks  of  the  cliffs  which  overhang 


A    VOLUME   OF  POEMS  241 

the  Schuylkill,  through  the  mouths  of  images 
carved  out  of  marble.  The  view  of  the  river 
winding  down  to  the  city  is  very  fine.  My  health 
is  better  than  I  could  expect,  but  I  have  suffered 
a  great  deal.  I  have  been  out  in  the  country  fre- 
quently. Send  me  the  two  '  poetries '  as  soon  as 
possible." 

The  poem  "The  Fratricide,"  written  in  1831, 
may  be  found  in  the  appendix  to  the  Riverside 
edition  of  Mr.  Whittier's  works,  but  "  The  Phari- 
see "  is  omitted.  It  is  the  story  of  Paul's  conver- 
sion, told  in  blank  verse. 

Whittier  struck  the  keynote  of  his  whole  career 
as  a  reformer  when  he  quoted,  upon  the  title-page 
of  this  first  authorized  collection  of  his  anti-slavery 
poems,  these  noble  words  of  S.  T.  Coleridge  :  — 

" '  There  is  a  time  to  keep  silence,'  saith  Solo- 
mon. But  when  I  proceeded  to  the  first  verse  of 
the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Ecclesiastes,  '  and  con- 
sidered all  the  oppressions  that  are  done  under 
the  sun,  and  beheld  the  tears  of  such  as  are  op- 
pressed, and  they  have  had  no  comforter  ;  and  on 
the  side  of  the  oppressors  there  was  power,'  I 
concluded  this  was  not  the  time  to  keep  silence  ; 
for  Truth  should  be  spoken  at  all  times,  but  more 
especially  at  those  times  when  to  speak  Truth  is 
dangerous." 

It  was  during  this  visit  to  his  home  in  the  fall  of 
1838,  and  just  before  returning  to  his  editorial 
duties  in  Philadelphia,  that  he  wrote  in  the  album 
of  Mary  Pillsbury,  of  West  Newbury,  the  follow- 
ing lines,  expressing  his  love  of  his  New  England 
home : — 


242  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Pardon  a  stranger  hand  that  gives 

Its  impress  to  these  gilded  leaves. 

As  one  who  graves  in  idle  mood 

An  idler's  name  on  rock  or  wood, 

So  in  a  careless  hour  I  claim 

A  page  to  leave  my  humble  name. 

Accept  it ;  and  when  o'er  my  head 

A  Pennsylvanian  sky  is  spread, 

And  but  in  dreams  my  eye  looks  back 

On  broad  and  lovely  Merrimac, 

And  on  my  ear  no  longer  breaks 

The  murmuring  music  which  it  makes, 

When  but  in  dreams  I  look  again 

On  Salisbury  beach  —  Grasshopper  plain,  — 

Or  Powow  stream  —  or  Amesbury  mills, 

Or  old  Crane  neck,  or  Pipestave  hills, 

Think  of  me  then  as  one  who  keeps, 

Where  Delaware's  broad  current  sweeps, 

And  down  its  rugged  limestone-bed 

The  Schuylkill's  arrowy  flight  is  sped, 

Deep  in  his  heart  the  scenes  which  grace 

And  glorify  his  "  native  place  ;  " 

Loves  every  spot  to  childhood  dear, 

And  leaves  his  heart  "  untraveled  "  here ; 

Longs,  'midst  the  Dutchman's  kraut  and  greens, 

For  pumpkin-pie  and  pork  and  beans, 

And  sighs  to  think  when,  sweetly  near, 

The  soft  piano  greets  his  ear 

That  the  fair  hands  which,  small  and  white, 

Glance  on  its  ivory  polished  light, 

Have  ne'er  an  Indian  pudding  made, 

Nor  fashioned  rye  and  Indian  bread. 

And  oh !  whene'er  his  footsteps  turn, 

Whatever  stars  above  him  burn, 

Though  dwelling  where  a  Yankee's  name 

Is  coupled  with  reproach  or  shame, 

Still  true  to  his  New  England  birth, 

Still  faithful  to  his  home  and  hearth, 

Even  'midst  the  scornful  stranger  band 

His  boast  shall  be  of  YANKEE  LAND. 

Something  of  the  same  spirit  appears  in  this 
letter:  — 


LOVE   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  243 

TO  CALEB  GUSHING. 

PHILADELPHIA,  4th  mo.,  4th,  1839. 
My  fugitive  poems  have  never  been  published, 
except  a  few  in  a  late  volume  bound  up  with  my 
abolition  and  incendiary  verses.  I  am  glad  thou 
hast  undertaken  to  say  something  of  our  own  Mer- 
rimac,  endeared  to  me  by  all  the  recollections  of 
childhood,  and  the  ripple  of  whose  waters  I  still 
hear  in  my  dreams,  even  on  the  banks  of  the 
Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware.  Some  time  ago  I 
wrote  a  prose  tale  called  "  Passaconway,"  the  scene 
of  which  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Merrimac.  I 
long  to  return  once  more  to  New  England,  but 
when  I  shall  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  decide.  I 
like  the  Quaker  purity  of  this  city,  and  its  Quaker 
hospitality,  but  I  would  rather  live  as  an  obscure 
New  England  farmer.  I  would  rather  see  the 
sunset  light  streaming  through  the  valley  of  the 
Merrimac  than  to  look  out  for  many  months  upon 
brick  walls  and  Sam  Weller's  "werry  beautiful 
landscape  of  chimney  pots.".  .  .  I  am  sorry,  but  I 
fear  Van  Buren  will  be  reflected ;  it  will  be  hard 
to  give  the  New  England  States  to  Clay. 

In  July,  1839,  he  found  it  necessary,  as  already 
mentioned,  to  give  up  the  drudgery  of  editorial 
work,  and  he  called  his  cousin,  Moses  A.  Cart- 
land,  afterwards  widely  known  as  a  successful 
teacher,  to  take  his  place  for  a  few  weeks.  He 
made  a  tour  to  western  Pennsylvania,  working  for 
the  cause  of  anti-slavery  reform  wherever  he  went, 
and  sending  occasional  letters  to  his  paper.  Mr. 
Cartland  says  of  him,  "  He  goes  with  the  hope  of 


244  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

restoring  the  tone  of  his  worn  and  wasted  energies, 
exhausted  as  they  have  been  by  unremitting  toil 
in  that  cause  which  lies  deepest  in  his  affections, 
the  cause  of  freedom  and  humanity." 

The  election  of  Caleb  Gushing  having  been 
secured  in  the  North  Essex  district,  Mr.  Whittier 
did  not  return  to  his  editorial  duties  in  Philadel- 
phia until  he  had  arranged  for  the  sending  of  pe- 
titions from  every  part  of  his  home  district  to  the 
next  session  of  Congress,  calling  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  for  the 
restriction  of  the  interstate  slave  trade.  His  first 
effort  when  he  resumed  his  duties  as  editor  of  the 
"  Freeman  "  was  to  wake  up  the  anti-slavery  peo- 
ple of  Pennsylvania  to  the  importance  of  giving 
their  Congressmen  no  rest  until  their  object  was 
attained.  The  petitions  sent  in  response  to  this 
call  were  refused  reception  by  a  rule  adopted  by 
Congress,  and  the  Northern  author  of  this  rule 
received  a  terrible  poetical  castigation  *t  the  hands 
of  Whittier,  in  his  New  Year's  address  to  the 
patrons  of  the  "  Freeman." 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1839,  Miss  Minot  wrote 
to  her  friend,  Elizabeth  Whittier,  of  an  interest- 
ing rumor,  which  had,  however,  no  foundation  in 
fact :  — 

"  We  have  just  heard  of  your  brother's  engage- 
ment. Mr.  [A.  W.]  Thayer  and  Mr.  [H.  B.] 
Stanton  brought  the  information  some  weeks  ago, 
but  it  has  only  now  reached  us.  I  congratulate 
you  with  all  my  heart.  She  came  to  me  in  my 
dreams  last  night,  and  so  charming  a  creature  I 
never  saw,  or  before  imagined.  I  passed  a  few 


SARATOGA  245 

hours  in  her  society,  and  I  loved  her  as  if  she  had 
been  the  most  cherished  friend  of  years.  .  .  .  We 
hear  that  she  is  from  Brooklyn,  and  that  she  is  not 
a  Quakeress."  1 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1839,  an  urgent  call  was 
sent  to  Mr.  Whittier,  signed  by  Joshua  Leavitt 
and  Henry  B.  Stanton,  to  attend  a  national  anti- 
slavery  convention  to  be  held  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
July  31  of  the  same  year.  The  American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  had  become  a  "  close  corporation," 
and  many  persons  favorable  to  its  objects  did  not 
find  opportunity  for  efficient  work  in  it.  This  con- 
vention was  called  to  devise  means  of  uniting  the 
strength  of  all  the  friends  of  liberty,  and  Mr. 
Whittier's  cooperation  was  earnestly  desired.  If 
he  could  not  come,  would  he  not  write  a  letter  that 
could  be  sent  to  the  convention  ?  He  attended 
the  convention,  and  then  went  to  Saratoga  Springs, 
in  the  height  of  the  season.  From  Saratoga  he 
wrote  to  a  Philadelphia  friend  who  had  accompa- 
nied him  to  Albany,  under  date  of  August  8, 
1839:  — 

"A  leisure  moment  being  afforded  me,  I  em- 
brace it  to  tell  thee  my  adventures  since  I  parted 
with  thee  at  the  Albany  Congress  Hall.  I  went 
out  to  Saratoga  that  afternoon,  and  arrived  there 
about  six  o'clock,  in  company  with  our  abolition 
friends,  Hon.  Amasa  Walker,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Henry  B.  Stanton.  On  board  the  cars  was  a 
Mississippi  lawyer  and  slaveholder,  with  his  ser- 
vant. He  seemed  to  take  a  fancy  to  me,  as  a 
Quaker,  and  entered  into  conversation  on  'the 
1  This  reference  is  probably  to  Lucy  Hooper. 


246  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

vexed  question  '  at  once.  It  was  maintained  very 
warmly  but  pleasantly  until  our  arrival  at  the 
Springs.  We  found  the  best  hotels  crowded  to 
suffocation,  and  finally  took  lodgings  at  the  Pavil- 
ion. Here  I  found  Dr.  Farnsworth,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  his  daughter,  and  several  other 
acquaintances,  among  others  two  young  South 
Carolinians,  upon  whom  I  had  formerly  bestowed 
some  attention,  during  their  summer  sojourn, 
some  years  ago,  in  my  native  town.  They  were 
apparently  as  pleased  to  meet  me  as  if  I  had  not 
been  opposed  to  their  '  peculiar  institution.' 
Our  Mississippi  friend  was  full  of  politeness  and 
good  nature,  and  I  believe  would  have  been  ready 
to  lynch  on  the  spot  any  one  who  should  have 
assailed  his  Quaker  friend.  He  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  abolitionists  were  shamefully 
libeled,  and  that  we  were  the  true  friends  of  the 
South.  Many  of  my  Massachusetts  friends  have 
arrived  at  the  Springs,  during  the  last  two  or  three 
days.  I  am  on  the  whole  enjoying  myself  quite 
well,  and  my  health  is,  I  think,  most  decidedly 
improved,  not  by  drinking  the  rascally  drugged 
water  here,  but  by  travel,  exercise,  and  open  air. 
I  wish  thee  was  here,  that  we  might  laugh  together 
at  the  ten  thousand  ridiculous  things  which  are 
constantly  occurring  around  us.  As  it  is,  I  have 
laughed  alone,  and  that  is  hard  business.  It  is  an 
admirable  place  here  to  study  human  nature ;  to 
watch  the  manifestations  of  its  pride,  vanity,  and 
jealousy ;  to  note  the  early  developments  of  love, 
the  agony  of  disappointment,  of  baffled  aims,  of 
wasted  affections,  of  unshared  sympathies ;  Hope 


NEWPORT  247 

and  Despair,  Love  and  Hatred,  chastened  Desire 
and  unbridled  Passion,  —  all  crowded  together  be- 
neath the  light  of  the  same  astrals,  mingling  in  the 
same  dance  and  promenade.  For  myself,  I  have 
been  somewhat  of  a  laughing  philosopher,  and 
have  found  amusement  wherever  I  could.  .  .  . 
Thou  wilt  perceive  that  my  ink  is  of  a  new  color, 
in  explanation  whereof  I  will  just  state  that  since 
the  above  was  written,  I  have  been  floating  New 
England-ward,  and  am  now  writing  in  the  parlor 
of  '  mine  own  inn,'  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week  and  between  meetings.  I  arrived 
here  last  night  in  company  with  a  friend,  Judge 
Hunt,  of  Rensselaer  County,  New  York,  who  has 
been  my  traveling  companion  for  some  days  past. 
Last  night,  by  dint  of  pushing  and  scolding,  I 
obtained  a  berth  (not  a  trifling  matter  when  at 
least  one  third  of  the  passengers  were  left  without 
any  accommodations  for  sleeping  whatever),  but 
on  going  to  take  possession  of  it,  I  found  a  sturdy 
six-footer  snoring  away  as  regularly  as  if  he  had  n't 
stolen  his  quarters.  I  gave  him  a  punch  in  the 
ribs  by  way  of  admonition,  and  worried  him  off 
the  premises.  He  growled  like  a  bear  disturbed 
in  his  hollow  log.  I  threatened  to  call  the  captain, 
and  he  set  me  at  defiance.  The  captain  came, 
and  was  about  to  administer  lynch  law  on  the  spot, 
when  the  fellow  thrust  his  berth  card  in  the  cap- 
tain's face  and  bade  him  rectify  his  own  blunders. 
It  turned  out  that  the  captain  had  assigned  us 
both  one  and  the  same  lodging-place,  whereupon 
he  pointed  to  the  first  empty  berth  he  saw  and 
bade  me  occupy  it.  I  did  so,  not  without  some 


248  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

compunctious  visitations,  however,  for  not  long 
after  I  had  thrown  myself  upon  it,  a  little  bald- 
headed  Frenchman  came  and  looked  in  upon  me 
and  then  at  his  card.  He  bowed,  grinned,  and 
muttered  his  bad  English  at  me.  I  made  no 
reply,  and  he  left  me.  '  Diable  ! '  said  he,  '  vat 
vill  I  do  for  my  sleep  ?  '  Headache  and  weari- 
ness made  me  selfish,  and  I  held  possession  and 
left  the  poor  Frenchman  to  his  fate. 

"  I  shall  spend  a  day  or  two  at  Newport  with 
my  cousins,  the  "Wendells,  of  Philadelphia.  There 
are  a  good  many  of  our  orthodox  Friends  here  at 
the  present  time.  It  is  of  course  pleasant  to  meet 
them,  only  I  wish  there  was  less  formality  and 
precision  among  them. 

"  I  was  vexed  with  myself  that  I  did  not  have 
more  of  thy  company  at  Albany.  The  vexatious 
business  of  the  convention,  and  one  circumstance 
and  another,  prevented  me.  I  feel  as  if  I  had 
been  cheated,  or,  what  is  still  worse,  cheated  my- 
self out  of  a  great  deal  of  pleasure.  But  the  past 
may  not  be  recalled.  Probably  the  circumstances 
which  vexed  me  saved  thee  from  vexation.  Was 
it  not  so  ?  —  I  am  desirous  of  hearing  from  thee 
an  account  of  thy  excursion  to  Lebanon,  Catskill, 
etc.,  and  shall  expect  thee  to  sit  down  at  once  and 
answer  this  incoherent  scrawl." 

In  August,  1839,  his  sister  Elizabeth  thus  writes 
to  her  friend,  Harriet  Minot,  the  anti-slavery  war 
to  which  she  refers  being  the  contest  in  regard  to 
the  "  new  organization  :  "  — 

"  Greenleaf  has  left  his  paper  with  cousin  Moses 
Cartland,  and  gone  to  Saratoga  and  elsewhere  for 


LIKENESS   OF  WHITTIER  249 

his  health.  He  was  at  the  Albany  meeting,  which, 
by  the  way,  I  hear  was  good,  quite  rational.  Does 
thee  ever  see  the  4  Pennsylvania  Freeman '  ? 
Cousin  Moses  does  nobly  in  his  new  station  as 
editor.  ...  I  want  to  tell  thee  about  the  state 
meeting  at  Concord,  and  to  ask  on  which  side  thee 
stands  in  regard  to  the  anti-slavery  war,  —  it  de- 
serves no  milder  name.  I  am  very  sorry  for  this 
sort  of  bitterness  among  us,  and  the  dividing  cry 
of  'Every  man  to  his  tent,  O  Israel,'  is  abroad, 
and  each  individual,  however  humble,  is  sum- 
moned now,  I  think,  to  the  place  of  decision." 

In  a  letter  to  the  paper  Mr.  Whittier  says  he 
"  met  many  Southern  people,  had  many  oppor- 
tunities of  laying  our  principles  before  them,  and 
hoped  had  made  favorable  impression."  From 
New  York  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Amesbury, 
and  remained  in  Massachusetts  until  October. 
On  the  10th  of  that  month  he  was  again  at  his 
desk  in  Philadelphia,  much  refreshed  and  strength- 
ened by  his  travels.  His  sister  Elizabeth  accom- 
panied him  on  his  return.  While  he  was  absent 
Joseph  Healy  made  this  announcement  in  the 
paper :  "  In  the  absence  of  the  editor,  we  take  the 
liberty  of  announcing  that  we  have  obtained  a  good 
likeness  of  him,  with  facsimiles  of  his  signature, 
and  that  a  few  (and  only  a  few)  copies  are  for  sale 
at  this  office,  the  profits,  if  any,  to  go  to  the  cause 
in  which  this  estimable  individual  is  so  effectively 
engaged." 

In  the  summer  of  1839,1  Henry  B.  Stanton  and 

1  Mr.  Stanton  in  his  Random  Recollections  makes  this  date 
1836,  but  he  is  in  error. 


250  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

John  G.  Whittier  were  deputed  by  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Society  to  go  through  Pennsylvania 
and  employ  seventy  public  speakers,  if  they  could 
find  as  many,  who  should  go  out  to  awaken  the 
conscience  of  the  nation  in  the  matter  of  slavery. 
They  went  to  the  theological  schools  and  other 
institutions  of  learning,  in  the  hope  to  enlist 
young  men  in  the  work.  Their  mission  brought 
them,  among  other  places,  to  the  Lutheran  Institu- 
tion on  Seminary  Eidge  at  Gettysburg.  They 
were  charmed  with  the  lovely  landscape  in  view 
from  this  lofty  outlook,  which  included  the  now 
famous  heights  known  as  Cemetery  Eidge,  Gulp's 
Hill,  and  the  Eound  Top ;  but  they  little  dreamed 
that  twenty-four  years  later  these  landmarks  would 
have  a  world -wide  celebrity  in  connection  with 
one  of  the  bloodiest  and  most  decisive  battles  of 
modern  times,  waged  for  the  cause  they  were  there 
to  promote.  Mr.  Stanton,  in  his  "  Eandom  Eecol- 
lections,"  says  of  Whittier  in  connection  with  this 
trip :  — 

"  He  cheered  me  with  his  genial  presence  and 
wise  counsel.  ...  I  am  not  so  beside  myself  as  to 
imagine  that  any  encomium  from  me  could  add  to 
Whittier' s  literary  fame.  But  having  toiled  by 
his  side  for  several  years,  and  spent  many  a  de- 
lightful hour  in  his  cottage  at  Amesbury,  it  may 
become  me  to  record  that  he  rendered  valuable  aid 
to  the  anti-slavery  cause  by  his  brave  example, 
while  his  pen  sent  ringing  words  of  encourage- 
ment and  shed  unfading  lustre  over  the  field 
where  the  battle  raged." 

The   following   extracts   from   letters   to   Miss 


LETTERS   TO  ELIZABETH  J.  NEALL     251 

Elizabeth  J.  Neall  (afterward  Mrs.  Sidney  How- 
ard Gay),  daughter  of  his  friend  Daniel  Neall,  of 
Philadelphia,  illustrate  some  attractive  phases  of 
his  character.  They  show  how  the  deep  earnest- 
ness of  that  heroic  time  was  lightened  and  cheered 
by  his  sunny  humor.  He  wrote  from  Carlisle,, 
Pa.,  July  8,  1839,  while  he  was  making  the  excur- 
sion with  Mr.  Stanton,  to  which  reference  has 
been  made  :  — 

"  Here  we  are,  or  rather  here  I  am,  sitting  in 
the  front  parlor  of  our  friend  McKim's,  solitary 
and  alone,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  place.  Over 
'  the  mountains  round  about,'  especially  those  which 
skirt  the  northwestern  horizon,  a  part  of  that 
mountain-wall  which  girdles  the  great  Cumberland 
valley,  broods  a  thick  thunder-cloud,  the  lightning 
flashing  with  keen  brightness  over  woodland  and 
church-tower,  and  the  thunder  uttering  its  voices, 
and  as  our  friend  Ralph  Smith  would  say,  '  rever- 
berating through  the  valleys.'  Miller  McKim 
and  H.  B.  Stanton  have  gone  out  in  the  storm, 
and  I  am  left  alone,  an  occasional  light  and 
cautious  step  in  an  adjoining  room  only  reminding 
me  that  I  am  not  the  sole  occupant  of  the  mansion. 
That  step  I  feel  persuaded,  nay,  I  would  make  my 
Quaker  affirmation  of  it,  is  the  step  of  Eliza 
McKim,  a  sister  of  James,  whom  we  met  at  the 
tea-table.  Why  on  earth  don't  she  take  pity  on 
my  forlorn  condition  and  bend  her  steps  this  way  ? 
What  can  she  be  doing  ?  Is  she  afraid  to  look 
upon  me  ?  Did  she  never  see  a  live  Quaker 
before  ?  Maybe  she  has  heard  horrible  stories  of 
the  Yankees,  and  takes  me  to  be  a  lineal  descend- 


252  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

ant  of  one  of  the  Salem  witches !  Perhaps  her 
household  duties  detain  her ;  perhaps  she  is  another 
Martha  '  troubled  about  many  things.'  Notable 
must  she  be  as  a  housewife,  famous  for  her  atten- 
tion to  '  the  domestic  relations  '  of  the  pantry  and 
supper  dishes.  Well,  let  her  have  her  own  way, 
and  I  '11  have  mine ;  so  here  goes  for  a  letter  to 
thee,  and  whether  welcome  or  unwelcome,  a  letter 
thee  shall  have. 

"  Why  didn't  we  get  the  breakfast  at  325  Arch, 
according  to  promise  ?  Why,  for  a  very  good  rea- 
son, nay,  perhaps,  for  two  good  reasons.  1.  We 
lay  abed  too  late.  2.  Perhaps  thee  did  also,  and 
if  we  had  called  at  the  hour  specified,  and  in- 
quired for  thee  and  the  breakfast,  the  report  in 
regard  to  both  might  have  been  '  non  est  inventus.' 
We  had  hardly  time  as  it  was  to  get  to  the  car 
office  and  secure  our  seats.  We  rode  about  two 
hours,  and  stopped  at  a  dirty  Dutch  tavern  for 
breakfast.  An  execrable  cup  of  tea,  which  would 
have  poisoned  a  Chinese  mandarin ;  ham,  tough 
and  solid  as  sheet  iron,  which  had  probably  been 
smoked  and  salted  annually  for  the  last  twenty 
years  ;  and  some  hot  cakes  saturated  with  bad  but- 
ter, greasy  and  heavy,  and  anti-Grahamish,  con- 
stituted our  wretched  fare.  It  was  such  a  '  trick 
upon  travelers '  as  Yankee  landlords  even  would 
have  been  ashamed  of.  We  pursued  our  way  till 
about  one  o'clock,  when  we  stopped  to  dine.  A 
tremendous  thunder  -  storm  was  raging,  and  the 
rain  falling  in  torrents.  It  would  have  given  thee 
a  high  opinion  of  our  gallantry  if  thee  could  have 
seen  us  wait  upon  the  ladies  out  of  the  cars,  into 


LETTERS   TO  ELIZABETH  J.  NEALL     253 

the  house.  We  got  to  Harrisburg  about  three 
o'clock,  and  stopped  at  the  splendid  Hotel  Wilson, 
on  Market  Street.  Yesterday  Stanton  lectured 
twice,  and  I  made  some  visits.  This  morning  we 
spent  in  looking  up  some  anti-slavery  matters, 
and  at  three  o'clock  we  again  took  the  cars  for 
Carlisle.  To-morrow,  if  nothing  happens,  we  shall 
go  to  Governor  Ritner's,  and  from  thence  we  shall 
push  on  to  Gettysburg  in  search  of  some  one  or 
more  lecturers  to  talk  Dutch  abolition.  We  have 
been  recommended  to  some  half-dozen  Schloshen- 
burgers,  and  Quackenbosches,  and  Kakerspergers, 
and  Slambangers,  with  unpronounceable  Dutch 
names  enough  to  crack  the  jaws  of  any  Anglo- 
Saxons,  whom  we  hope  to  interest  in  our  cause. 
We  must  get  the  Germans  with  us,  by  some  means 
or  other.  These  middle  counties  are  full  of  Ger- 
mans, and  they  are  on  this  subject  4  thrice  dead 
and  plucked  up  by  the  roots.'  They  must  be 
roused  up  at  all  events. 

"  9th,  Third-day  morning.  We  have  just  re- 
turned from  a  ride  to  Governor  Ritner's  farm, 
about  nine  miles  from  Carlisle.  The  old  man  was 
out  on  his  farm,  and  his  wife  and  daughters  wel- 
comed us  with  great  hospitality.  The  governor 
soon  came  in  in  his  working  dress.  We  stayed 
about  one  hour  and  a  half,  and  then  rode  back  to 
Carlisle,  where  we  now  are.  This  afternoon  we 
start  for  Chamber sburg  and  Gettysburg." 

In  January,  1840,  he  made  a  short  visit  to 
Washington,  and  was  in  the  gallery  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  during  the  great  debate  on  the 
right  of  petition,  which  ended  in  the  shutting  out 


254  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

of  all  petitions  upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  On 
the  28th  of  January  he  wrote  from  Washington  to 
Joseph  Healy,  the  publisher  of  the  "  Freeman  :  "  — 

"  We  arrived  here  safe  and  well  to-day,  having 
stopped  last  night  at  Baltimore.  I  have  seen 
Adams,  Gushing,  etc.,  and  had  some  conversation 
with  several  Southern  as  well  as  Northern  mem- 
bers, I  hope  with  some  effect.  I  feel  better  than 
when  I  left ;  expect  to  be  at  home  on  Seventh  day. 
You  will  see  by  the  '  Globe  '  of  to-day  that  the 
right  of  petition  has  been  denied  to  us.  Northern 
subserviency  has  yielded  all  to  the  demands  of  the 
South." 

His  friends  had  now  become  alarmed  at  the 
condition  of  his  health,  and  a  skillful  physician  who 
was  consulted  decided  that  there  was  serious 
trouble  with  his  heart,  and  that  he  must  give  up  at 
once  the  labor  and  anxiety  of  editorial  life.  On 
the  20th  of  February  he  published  his  valedictory 
as  editor  of  the  "  Freeman,"  and  the  next  week, 
with  his  sister  Elizabeth,  he  started  for  his  home 
in  Amesbury,  where  they  arrived  after  the  journey 
of  a  week. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

.   A  DECADE  OF  WORK  AT  HOME. 
1840-1850. 

WHEN  Whittier  resigned  his  editorial  position 
he  planned  to  attend  the  world's  anti-slavery  con- 
vention to  be  held  in  London,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1840.  It  was  hoped  the  sea  voyage  would 
benefit  him.  He  went  so  far  as  to  procure  his 
outfit  and  to  engage  his  passage.  But  upon  con- 
sulting his  intimate  friend,  the  skillful  physician, 
Dr.  Henry  I.  Bowditch,  he  was  told  that  while 
the  voyage  might  prove  beneficial  if  he  could  avoid 
all  the  excitements  of  society,  there  was  a  chance 
of  serious  consequences  from  any  mental  or  physical 
exertion,  and  it  would  be  advisable  to  remain  at 
home.  He  spent  the  summer  of  1840  in  visits 
among  friends,  and  before  he  returned  to  Ames- 
bury  attended  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends  at 
Newport. 

TO  ELIZABETH  H.  WHITTIER. 

BUCKS  COUNTY,  PA.,  5th  mo.,  1840. 
I  have  been  promising  to  write  thee  for  some 
days,  but  a  severe  cold  from  which  I  have  as  yet 
but  partially  recovered  has  disinclined  me  to  exer- 
tion of  every  kind.  My  general  health  is  about 
as  usual ;  I  fear  not  better.  I  have  much  pain 


256        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

in  chest  and  head.  I  have  been  now  for  some 
time  at  J.  Healy's  "  Spring  Grove  Farm,"  on  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware,  or  rather  on  a  high  bluff 
overlooking  the  river,  with  a  fine  view  of  the  New 
Jersey  side.  Cousin  Joseph  Cartland  came  up 
with  me,  and  stayed  five  days.  There  are  a  great 
number  of  Hicksites  in  this  vicinity ;  they  have 
possession  of  the  old  Friends'  meeting-houses 
all  through  the  county.  The  "  Orthodox "  have 
meetings  at  Solebury,  three  miles  from  Joseph 
Healy's,  and  at  Buckingham,  five  miles.  We  at- 
tended meeting  yesterday  at  the  latter  place,  in 
a  large  new  stone  building,  beautifully  situated 
in  a  fine  grove  of  forest  trees.  Some  excellent 
remarks  were  made  by  Christopher  Healy,  who 
intends  to  visit  New  England  Yearly  Meeting.  I 
expect  myself  to  return  by  way  of  Newport, 
although  my  health  is  not  equal  to  a  constant  at- 
tendance of  the  meetings.  I  think  I  shall  go  back 
to  Philadelphia  in  a  day  or  two,  and  after  a  short 
visit  in  Wilmington,  return  to  New  York.  It  is, 
I  believe,  well  that  I  did  not  go  to  England.  It 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  me,  but  it  is  all 
right.  I  wish  I  could  feel  wholly  resigned  to  all 
the  allotments  of  All- Wise  Providence,  and  be 
more  thankful  for  the  blessings  still  reserved  to 
me.  It  sometimes  seems  strange  that  I  cannot  do 
as  others  around  me,  but  I  try  to  suppress  any 
feeling  of  repining  or  murmuring.  I  feel  that  I 
have  not  deserved  the  least  of  the  bounties  be- 
stowed on  me. 


SPEECH  OF  J.  J.   GURNEY  257 

TO  ANN  E.   WENDELL. 

NEWPORT,  6th  mo.,  12,  1840. 

On  reaching  New  York  we  received  an  accession 
to  our  company,  Joseph  John  Gurney,  Richard 
Mott,  Samuel  Parsons,  and  a  large  number  of 
younger  friends,  among  them  my  young  abolition 
friend  Mary  Murray,  who  in  course  of  the  evening 
drew  out  J.  J.  Gurney  upon  the  subject  of  his  late 
West  Indian  tour,  much  to  the  edification  of  our- 
selves and  other  passengers.  The  evening  was  the 
most  beautiful  I  ever  spent  upon  the  water,  warm 
enough  to  keep  on  deck,  in  view  of  the  heavens 
glorious  with  a  sunset  such  as  our  stranger  com' 
panions  had  never  seen  flushing  the  cold  gray  sky 
or  reflected  on  the  shingly  beaches  and  white  cliffs 
of  England.  Landing  at  Newport  I  met  a  most 
kind  welcome  at  our  friend  David  Gould's.  On 
First  day  J.  J.  Gurney  spoke  at  great  length  upon 
the  Principles  of  our  Religious  Society,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  remarks  made  an  allusion  to  the 
departure  of  a  dear  friend,  Daniel  Wheeler.  He 
spoke  of  the  lips,  now  cold,  which  had  been  touched 
by  a  coal  from  the  Lord's  altar,  of  the  kind  and 
generous  and  benevolent  heart  which  had  ceased 
to  beat,  of  the  eye  of  sympathy  and  love  closed  up 
forever.  Yet  he  trusted  it  was  with  the  eye  01 
faith  that  he  looked  into  the  world  of  spirits,  and 
felt  that  the  reward  of  the  righteous  was  sure. 
He  closed  with  a  solemn  and  earnest  appeal  to  the 
younger  class  to  prepare  themselves  by  a  sur- 
render of  all  to  Christ,  for  the  work  of  sustaining 
those  principles  and  testimonies  which  the  dear 
departed  had  loved  and  been  faithful  to  unto  the 


258        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

last.  I  never  saw  or  felt  a  more  solemn  meeting. 
The  immense  audience,  at  least  three  thousand, 
were  silent  as  if  the  building  had  been  closed  and 
tenantless,  and  tears  in  the  eyes  of  many  told  how 
deeply  their  hearts  had  been  touched. 

C.  C.  Burleigh,  who  succeeded  Whittier  as  the 
editor  of  the  "  Pennsylvania  Freeman,"  declined 
to  publish  an  article  sent  him  by  Whittier  in  re- 
gard to  the  exclusion  of  women  delegates  by  the 
London  convention.  Commenting  upon  it  in  a 
letter  to  his  cousin,  Moses  Cartland,  he  said : 
"  Burleigh  has  written  me,  declining  to  publish  my 
article.  Very  well,  I  shall  not  trouble  him  in 
future.  He  says  he  has  reason  for  believing  that 
had  Lucretia  Mott  been  Orthodox  (instead  of  a 
Hicksite  Friend)  she  would  have  been  admitted, 
/don't  believe  it."  It  was  difference  of  opinion 
upon  this  unimportant  matter  which  made  the 
first  considerable  break  in  the  anti-slavery  ranks. 
Whittier  agreed  with  Garrison  as  to  the  appropri- 
ateness of  giving  public  positions  to  women  capa- 
ble of  holding  them,  but  did  not  approve  of  the 
attempt  to  force  this  issue  upon  a  convention,  a 
majority  of  the  delegates  to  which  did  not  approve 
of  it.  He  would  not  drive  out  of  the  anti-slavery 
ranks  those  who  were  not  ready  for  the  enfran- 
chisement of  women.  His  steadfastness  to  the  anti- 
slavery  cause  was  too  deeply  rooted  to  give  way 
before  any  factional  quarrel  or  misconception  of 
his  attitude. 


LOYALTY   TO   QUAKERISM  259 

TO  MOSES  A.  CARTLAND. 

AMESBUBY,  7th  mo.,  2, 1840. 

T  wish  to  contradict  in  terms  as  explicit  as  pos- 
sible the  rumor  which  thou  mentions  from  New- 
port Yearly  Meeting.  It  is  most  preposterously 
absurd.  My  abolitionism  grows  daily  stronger, 
my  faith  in  its  principles  is  deepening  amidst  all 
difficulties  and  trials  and  perplexities  and  vexa- 
tions of  our  organizations.  Like  the  pine  of  Vich 
Alpine,  "  Firmer  it  roots  the  louder  it  blow."  But 
I  do  fear  that  my  faith  in  our  organizations  is  not 
of  the  "  saving  kind."  I  have  just  sent  a  letter  to 
Joshua  Leavitt,  declining  to  act  as  one  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  American  and  Foreign 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  and  another  to  the  anti- 
slavery  convention  in  this  State,  declining  to  allow 
my  name  to  be  on  the  electoral  ticket  for  Birney 
and  Earle.  I  am  now  free  from  all  trammels, 
and  I  feel  more  at  ease.  Strong  in  my  confidence 
in  the  justice  of  our  cause,  in  the  beauty  and 
excellence  of  our  principles,  and  in  the  wisdom 
and  expediency  of  our  prominent  measures,  I  am 
still,  as  far  as  my  failing  health  admits  of,  ready 
to  do  and  suffer,  if  need  be,  for  abolitionism.  As 
a  man,  if  not  as  an  abolitionist,  I  have  a  right  to 
agree  or  disagree  with  the  "  no  government  "  peo- 
ple, without  giving  up  my  faith  that  a  man  is  a 
man,  and  not  a  mere  thing !  At  Newport,  and  at 
Philadelphia,  and  at  Lynn,  I  have  spoken  as  freely 
in  disapprobation  of  the  lukewarm  course  of  a 
portion  of  our  Friends  as  the  truth  would  justify, 
while  at  the  same  time  I  am  not  prepared  to  give 
up  Quakerism,  to  throw  myself  body  and  soul  into 


260        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

the  antisectarian  sect  about  Boston.  Free  I  am 
to  say  that  I  feel  a  deeper  interest  than  formerly 
in  supporting  the  religious  doctrines  and  testimo- 
nies of  our  Society,  and  I  hope  I  shall  find 
strength  to  manifest  that  interest ;  but  the  cause 
of  the  slave  still  rises  solemnly  before  me,  and 
from  the  warfare  of  the  oppressed  I  feel  no  re- 
lease, I  ask  for  none.  For  me,  I  am  sick,  but  to 
see  thee  would  get  me  well  again  almost.  We 
have  now  a  great  excitement  here  about  a  parcel 
of  blacks,  supposed  to  be  runaways,  landed  from 
some  vessel  on  our  coast,  who  are  now  in  the  great 
swamp  in  this  town  and  South  Hampton.  I  have 
been  out  to-day  after  them,  and  have  seen  a  boy, 
but  he  refuses  to  tell  where  he  comes  from. 
Depend  upon  it,  we  shall  get  up  a  great  negro 
hunt  here,  and  try  to  catch  and  tame  them. 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1840,  Mr.  Whittier  left 
Amesbury  for  Boston,  intending  to  take  the 
steamship  Britannia  for  Halifax,  in  the  hope  of 
benefit  to  his  health ;  but  the  excursion  was  given 
up,  as  were  so  many  projected  trips  for  health 
and  pleasure  during  his  whole  life,  because  he 
found  himself  not  strong  enough  to  undertake 
them.  In  September  of  the  same  year  he  again 
made  preparation  for  an  excursion  to  Halifax  by 
an  ocean  steamship,  and  again  was  stopped  by 
the  delicacy  of  his  health.  As  he  was  leaving 
home  on  the  first  occasion,  his  sister  wrote  to  a 
friend :  — 

"  It  will  be  lonely  when  he  is  away.  I  am  not 
homesick  in  Amesbury,  but  it  never  seems  like 


SLAVES  IN  AMESBURY   WOODS  261 

home  when  Greenleaf  is  away.  We  have  had  a 
grand  '  negro  hunt '  through  our  woods,  four  poor 
hunted  slaves  having  found  their  way  to  our 
neighborhood.  Our  people  became  alarmed ;  their 
cows  were  milked,  and  sometimes  to  the  frontier 
farmhouses  came  stealing,  from  the  woods,  a  weak 
suffering  man,  asking  for  food,  and  fleeing  when 
the  coarsest  crust  was  given  him.  A  fortnight 
ago  a  boy  of  the  gang  was  caught,  but  he  was  too 
frightened  to  be  able  to  tell  anything,  so  they  sent 
him  Canada-wards.  I  wish  we  could  find  his 
father  and  brothers,  now  in  the  woods." 

TO  ANN  E.  WENDELL. 

7th  mo.,  13, 1840. 

Did  I  mention  to  thee  in  my  letter  from  New- 
port a  circumstance  in  relation  to  Richard  Mott  ? 
On  Fifth  day  evening,  I  called  to  see  J.  J.  Gur- 
ney,  agreeable  to  his  request,  in  reference  to  aboli- 
tion matters.  After  our  interview  was  over, 
Kichard  Mott  followed  me  to  the  door  and  wished 
to  accompany  me  to  my  lodgings.  During  our 
walk  he  told  me  he  knew  not  how  it  was  or  why, 
but  that  his  mind  had  been  drawn  into  a  deep  and 
extraordinary  exercise  of  sympathy  with  me ;  that 
he  had  been  sensible  of  a  deep  trial  and  exercise 
in  my  own  mind ;  that  he  had  felt  it  so  strongly 
that  he  could  not  rest  easy  without  informing  me 
of  it,  although  he  had  heard  nothing  and  seen 
nothing  to  produce  this  conviction  in  his  mind.  He 
felt  desirous  to  offer  me  the  language  of  encour- 
agement, to  urge  me  to  put  aside  every  weight 
that  encumbers,  and  to  look  unto  Him  who  was 


262        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

able  to  deliver  from  every  trial.  I  confess  I  was 
startled.  Firmly  as  I  believed  the  Quaker  doc- 
trine on  this  subject,  its  personal  application  to 
myself  in  a  manner  so  utterly  inexplicable  by 
merely  human  reasoning  awed  me.  I  said  little 
to  him,  but  enough  to  show  him  something  of  the 
state  of  my  mind.  Pray  for  me  that  I  may  not 
suffer  this  most  evident  day  of  the  Lord's  visita- 
tion to  pass  over  and  leave  me  as  before.  The 
suggestion  of  some  lines  on  the  death  of  Daniel 
Wheeler  seemed  to  strengthen  a  feeling  in  my 
own  mind  which  has  resulted  in  my  penning  some 
the  other  day.  If  I  can  publish  it  I  will  send  it 
to  thee.  I  have  no  time  to  copy  it  now. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  Richard 
Mott  indicates  a  deep  sense  of  his  own  spiritual 
needs,  and  his  desire  to  be  in  closer  communion 
with  Him  who  alone  could  supply  them.  The 
letter  was  written  in  November,  1840  :  — 

"  I  have  to  lament  over  protracted  seasons  of 
doubt  and  darkness,  to  shrink  back  from  the  dis- 
covery of  some  latent  unfaithfulness  and  insin- 
cerity, to  find  evil  at  the  bottom  of  seeming  good, 
to  abhor  myself  for  selfishness  and  pride  and 
vanity,  which  at  times  manifest  themselves,  —  in 
short,  to  find  the  law  of  sin  and  death  still  binding 
me.  My  temperament,  ardent,  impetuous,  imag- 
inative, powerfully  acted  upon  from  without,  keenly 
susceptible  to  all  influences  from  the  intellectual 
world,  as  well  as  to  those  of  nature,  in  her  va- 
ried manifestations,  is,  I  fear,  ill  adapted  to  that 
quiet,  submissive,  introverted  state  of  patient  and 


RELIGIOUS  BELIEFS  263 

passive  waiting  for  direction  and  support  under 
these  trials  and  difficulties.  I  think  often  of  our 
meeting  at  Rhode  Island,  and  at  times  something  of 
a  feeling  of  regret  comes  over  me,  that  I  am  so 
situated  as  not  to  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  com- 
pany and  the  care  and  watchful  ministrations  of 
those  whose  labors  have  been  signally  owned  by 
the  Great  Head  of  the  church.  Sitting  down  in 
our  small  meeting,  and  feeling  in  myself  and  in 
the  meeting  generally  a  want  of  life,  and  of  the 
renewing  baptism  of  that  Spirit  which  alone  can 
soften  the  hardness  and  warm  the  coldness  of  the 
heart,  I  sigh  for  the  presence  and  the  voices  of  the 
eminent  and  faithful  laborers  in  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard. I  know  that  this  out-looking  of  the  spirit, 
this  craving  of  the  eye  and  of  the  ear,  is  wrong, 
but  in  the  depths  of  spiritual  weakness,  is  it  not 
natural  to  crave  the  support  even  of  an  earthly 
arm?1' 

In  the  article  given  below,  and  hitherto  unpub- 
lished, he  defines  his  belief  upon  several  doctrinal 
points :  — 

"  The  central  thought,  the  root-idea  of  Qua- 
kerism, so  called,  is  as  old  as  human  needs.  Not 
only  is  it  affirmed  in  the  venerable  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures, but  with  more  or  less  distinctness  also  in 
the  remarkable  Vedas  of  India,  coming  down  to 
us  from  the  solemn  remoteness  of  ages  ;  and  in  the 
utterances  of  prophets,  poets,  priests,  and  philoso- 
phers, of  all  peoples  and  times,  which  remain  to 
testify  that  at  no  period,  and  in  no  nation,  God 
hath  left  himself  without  witnesses.  Its  fitting 
expression  may  be  found  in  the  word  Immanuel^ 
God  with  us. 


264        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

"  God  is  One ;  just,  holy,  merciful,  eternal,  and 
almighty  Creator,  Father  of  all  things.  Christ, 
the  same  eternal  One,  manifested  in  our  Human- 
ity, and  in  Time  ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  same 
Christ,  manifested  within  us,  the  Divine  Teacher, 
the  Living  Word,  the  Light  that  lighteth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world. 

"  The  Scriptures  are  a  rule,  not  the  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  which  is  none  other  than  the  living 
omnipresent  spirit  of  God.  The  Scriptures  are  a 
subordinate,  secondary,  and  declaratory  rule,  the 
reason  of  our  obedience  to  which  is  mainly  that  we 
find  in  them  the  eternal  precepts  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  declared  and  repeated,  to  which  our  con- 
science bears  witness.  .  .  .  They  testify  of  Christ 
within.  We  believe  in  the  Scriptures,  because 
they  believe  in  us,  because  they  repeat  the  warn- 
ings and  admonitions  and  promises  of  the  indwell- 
ing Light  and  Truth,  because  we  find  the  law  and 
prophets  in  our  souls.  We  agree  with  Luther, 
that  '  the  Scriptures  are  not  to  be  understood  but 
by  that  very  spirit  by  which  they  were  written,9 
and  with  Calvin,  that  '  it  is  necessary  that  the 
same  spirit  which  spoke  by  the  mouth  of  the  pro- 
phets should  convince  our  hearts  that  they  faith- 
fully delivered  that  which  God  committed  to 
them.' " 

While  thus  emphasizing  the  "  Immanence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  the  spiritual  work  of  Christ  in  the 
heart,  with  its  converting,  sanctifying  power,  sev- 
eral of  his  poems,  especially  "  The  Crucifixion," 
indicate  that  he  accepted  with  reverent  gratitude 
the  solemn  significance  of  the  outward  sacrifice, 


RELIGIOUS  BELIEFS  265 

the  manifestation  of  the  Father's  infinite  love  for 
his  children,  thus  opening  the  way  for  their  re- 
demption from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin.  In  a 
letter  to  "  The  Friend,"  written  in  1866,  to  correct 
an  error  as  to  his  religious  belief,  made  by  a  lec- 
turer, he  says :  — 

"  My  ground  of  hope  for  myself  and  for  human- 
ity is  in  that  Divine  fullness  of  love  which  was 
manifested  in  the  life,  teachings,  and  self-sacrifice 
of  Christ.  In  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  so  re- 
vealed, and  not  in  any  work  or  merit  of  our 
nature,  I  humbly,  yet  very  hopefully  trust.  I 
regard  Christianity  as  a  life,  rather  than  a  creed ; 
and  in  judging  of  my  fellow-men  I  can  use  no 
other  standard  than  that  which  our  Lord  and 
Master  has  given  us,  '  By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them.'  The  only  orthodoxy  that  I  am  espe- 
cially interested  in  is  that  of  life  and  practice." 

With  regard  to  our  condition  in  the  future  life, 
Whittier  thus  replies  to  a  letter  from  an  inquiring 
friend :  — 

"  I  think  I  understand  thy  inquiry.  I  am  not  a 
Universalist,  for  I  believe  in  the  possibility  of  the 
perpetual  loss  of  the  soul  that  persistently  turns 
away  from  God,  in  the  next  life  as  in  this.  But  I 
do  believe  that  the  Divine  love  and  compassion 
follow  us  in  all  worlds,  and  that  the  Heavenly 
Father  will  do  the  best  that  is  possible  for  every 
creature  He  has  made.  What  that  will  be  must 
be  left  to  his  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness.  I 
would  refer  thee  to  a  poem  of  mine,  '  The  An- 
swer,' as  containing  in  few  words  my  belief  in 
this  matter." 


266        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

TO  ANN  E.  WENDELL. 

LYNN,  llth  mo.,  1840. 

I  was  in  Boston  this  week,  and  looked  in  twice 
upon  the  queer  gathering  of  heterogeneous  spirits 
at  the  Chardon  Street  chapel  assembled  under  a 
call  issued  by  Maria  W.  Chapman,  Abby  Kelley, 
and  others,  to  discuss  the  subjects  of  the  Sabbath, 
ministry,  and  church  organizations,  and  some 
twenty  other  collateral  subjects.  When  I  was 
present  the  chapel  was  crowded,  a  motley-opin- 
ioned  company,  from  the  Calvinist  of  the  straitest 
sect  to  the  infidel  and  scoffer.  Half  of  the  fore- 
noon of  the  first  day  was  spent  in  debating 
whether  the  convention  should  be  organized  by 
the  choice  of  president  and  secretary,  or  whether 
these  old-fashioned  restraints  should  be  set  aside 
as  unworthy  of  advocates  of  "  the  largest  liberty," 
leaving  each  member  to  do  and  say  what  seemed 
right  in  his  own  eyes !  It  was  finally  decided  to 
have  a  president.  Then  came  on  a  discussion 
about  the  Sabbath,  in  which  Garrison  and  two 
transcendental  Unitarians,  and  a  woman  by  the 
name  of  Folsom,  argued  that  every  day  should  be 
held  sacred ;  that  it  was  not  a  rest  from  labor  but 
from  sin  that  was  wanted ;  that  keeping  First  day 
as  holy  was  not  required,  etc.  On  the  other  hand, 
Amos  A.  Phelps,  Dr.  Osgood,  and  some  others 
contended  for  the  Calvinistic  and  generally  re- 
ceived views  of  the  subject.  Dr.  Channing,  John 
Pierpont,  and  many  other  distinguished  men  were 
present,  but  took  no  part  in  the  discussions.  No 
Friends  were  members  of  the  convention,  although 
there  were  several  lookers-on.  Judging  from  the 


LETTER    TO  MISS  MINOT  267 

little  I  saw  and  heard,  I  do  not  think  the  world 
will  be  much  the  wiser  for  the  debate.  It  may 
have  a  tendency  to  unsettle  some  minds. 

Mr.  Whittier  remained  at  home  in  Amesbury 
during  the  winter  of  1840-41.  In  March,  1841, 
he  wrote  to  Miss  Minot,  of  Haverhill :  — 

"Thy  letter  was  heartily  welcome,  for  I  had 
been  for  some  days  too  stupid  and  dull  to  feel  any 
interest  in  things  present,  and  naturally  enough 
my  mind  wandered  back  to  the  past,  and  scenes 
which  are  now  but  memories  and  the  old  famil- 
iar faces  have  been  with  me.  I  should  have  been 
glad  to  make  Haverhill  a  visit  in  the  winter,  but 
the  extremely  delicate  state  of  my  health  has  com- 
pelled me  to  forego  the  pleasure.  I  feel  now 
somewhat  better,  but  I  have  little  confidence  in  it. 
Well,  I  am  in  God's  hands,  and  striving  to  resign 
myself  to  his  will,  not  however,  I  fear,  as  I  ought 
to.  With  all  my  suffering,  I  have  many  blessings, 
infinitely  more  than  I  deserve.  ...  I  now  think 
some  of  going  next  week  to  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, partly  to  escape  our  east  winds  which  I 
dread.  I  think  sickness  has  a  wonderful  effect  in 
fanning  into  life  the  half -extinguished  conscience. 
It  is  doubtless  better  for  me  and  for  my  friends 
that  the  hand  of  sickness  is  sometimes  laid  heavily 
upon  me.  Who  knows  what  either  thou  or  I 
should  have  been  had  we  always  enjoyed  good 
health?" 

In  April,  1841,  Mr.  Whittier  was  in  New  York, 
and  here  he  met  for  the  first  time  the  eminent 
English  philanthropist,  Joseph  Sturge.  It  was  in 


268        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

company  with  Mr.  Sturge  that  Mr.  Whittier  visited 
the  slave-dealing  establishments  of  H.  H.  Slaughter, 
in  Baltimore,  and  attended  the  Baptist  convention 
in  that  city  while  it  was  discussing  the  question  of 
eliminating  all  abolitionists  from  its  missionary 
board. 

TO    HARRIET    MINOT. 

PHILADELPHIA,  5th  mo.,  26,  1841. 

I  have  been  in  company  with  Joseph  Sturge,  of 
England,  at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Wilmington, 
and  Baltimore,  endeavoring  to  do  something  for 
the  cause  of  abolition,  with  what  success  time  will 
show.  I  shall  go  with  Mr.  Sturge  to  Washington 
next  week.  I  sent  the  other  day  a  copy  of  J.  J. 
Gurney's  "  Letters  on  West  India  Emancipation  " 
to  Henry  Clay.  I  was  in  Baltimore  during  the  sit- 
ting of  the  great  Triennial  Baptist  Convention,  and 
heard  the  discussion  on  slavery,  or  rather  upon  the 
question  of  excluding  Galusha  and  others,  as  aboli- 
tionists, from  the  Foreign  Mission  Board.  Dr. 
Brisbane,  of  Cincinnati,  late  of  South  Carolina, 
took  a  noble  stand. 

From  Baltimore  Mr.  Whittier  accompanied  Mr. 
Sturge  to  Wilmington,  in  Delaware,  but  from 
increase  of  indisposition  was  unable  to  go  farther 
with  him.  In  the  following  June,  we  find  Mr. 
Whittier  and  Mr.  Sturge  again  together  at  Wil- 
mington, Delaware,  attending  a  meeting  of  anti- 
slavery  men  in  that  slave  State,  who  were  consider- 
ing a  project  for  buying  all  the  slaves  in  Delaware, 
and  setting  them  free.  It  was  calculated  that  a 
tax  of  a  dollar  an  acre  would  be  sufficient  to  pur- 


Joseph  Sturge 


WITH  JOSEPH  STURGE  269 

chase  every  slave.  From  Wilmington  they  went 
to  Washington,  and  were  favored  with  seats  be- 
hind the  speaker's  chair  during  the  famous  debate 
on  the  "  gag  "  rule.  They  called  together  on  John 
Quincy  Adams,  and  on  President  Tyler,  who  had 
declined  to  receive  a  memorial  from  the  British 
Friends  signed  by  Thomas  Clarkson  which  Sturge 
was  commissioned  to  offer,  upon  the  subject  of 
slavery.  On  a  visit  to  the  Senate,  Henry  Clay 
had  a  conversation  with  them.  He  accused  Whit- 
tier  of  deserting  him,  after  being  his  warm  friend. 
Whittier  gave  his  reasons,  and  Clay  complained 
that  the  abolitionists  improperly  interfered  with 
the  affairs  of  the  South.  He  inquired  if  Whittier 
was  a  Friend  in  regular  standing,  intimating  a 
doubt  on  that  point  on  account  of  his  being  such  a 
decided  abolitionist.  They  went  from  the  Senate 
chamber  to  a  slave-pen  within  sight  of  the  Capitol, 
and  to  the  loathsome  city  jail,  where  Dr.  Crandall 
had  been  confined  until  his  health  broke  down, 
and  he  was  liberated  to  die.  Upon  their  return 
to  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Whittier  accompanied  his 
English  friend  in  a  visit  to  Abraham  L.  Pennock, 
an  aged  and  influential  Friend  and  devoted  phil- 
anthropist, at  Haverford.  This  visit  they  both 
looked  back  upon  in  after  years  with  most  grateful 
feelings.  From  Pennsylvania  they  proceeded  to 
Newport,  R.  I.,  and  attended  the  Yearly  Meeting 
of  Friends.  But  the  burthen  of  their  mission  for 
the  slaves  was  as  quietly  as  possible  ignored  by 
the  Meeting.  They  were  not  allowed  the  use  of 
the  meeting-house  for  an  anti-slavery  gathering. 
While  in  Newport  they  called  upon  Rev.  Dr, 


270        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

William  Ellery  Charming,  who  made  the  sugges- 
tion that  petitions  should  be  sent  to  Congress 
praying  that  the  Free  States  might  be  relieved 
from  all  direct  or  indirect  support  of  slavery. 
They  journeyed  to  Boston,  by  way  of  New  Bed- 
ford, where  Mr.  Sturge  made  note  that  for  the 
first  time  in  the  United  States  he  attended  a  meet- 
ing at  which  the  colored  part  of  the  audience  were 
placed  on  a  level  with,  and  sat  promiscuously 
among,  the  whites.  Mr.  Whittier  took  his  distin- 
guished guest  with  him  to  his  home  in  Amesbury, 
where  they  rested  for  a  few  days,  and  then  returned 
to  Boston.  A  long  interview  was  had  with  Garri- 
son, and  an  attempt  made  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing that  would  unite  the  two  wings  of  the 
anti-slavery  forces.  But  Garrison  insisted  upon 
the  right  of  women  to  take  part  equally  with  men 
in  the  transactions  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  — 
a  right  the  Quakers  of  course  did  not  deny,  while 
they  thought  the  question  need  not  then  be 
pressed.  On  their  way  to  New  York,  they  stopped 
at  Worcester,  and  here  Mr.  Whittier  became  so  ill 
that  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Amesbury.  On 
the  24th  of  July,  1841,  Mr.  Sturge  and  Mr.  Whit- 
tier met  again  in  New  York,  and  returned  to- 
gether to  Boston,  afterward  visiting  Lynn  and 
Lowell.  The  English  Quaker  embarked  for  home 
in  August.  The  friendship  between  the  two  men 
lasted  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Sturge,  in  1859.  He 
omitted  no  opportunity  to  be  helpful  to  Whittier 
when  illness  or  financial  embarrassment  gave  him 
an  opportunity  to  offer  his  purse.  Perceiving 
Whittier's  failing  health,  and  his  need  of  rest, 


KINDNESS   OF  JOSEPH  STURGE        271 

just  as  he  was  embarking  for  home,  in  August, 
1841,  he  left  with  Lewis  Tappan,  of  New  York, 
one  thousand  dollars,  upon  which  he  wished  Mr. 
Whittier  to  draw  as  he  might  need.  This  is  his 
memorandum  of  the  transaction  :  — 

Joseph  Sturge  places  at  the  disposal  of  his 
friend,  J.  Gr.  Whittier,  one  thousand  dollars,  dur- 
ing the  next  twelve  months,  for  his  personal  and 
other  current  expenses  of  housekeeping,  traveling, 
etc.,  or  a  visit  to  a  tropical  climate  for  the  sake  of 
his  health ;  and  if  he  should  not  need  the  whole 
for  this  purpose  he  will  please  apply  the  remainder 
to  any  traveling  or  other  expenses  connected  with 
his  labor  with  the  "Reporter,"  or  any  other  anti- 
slavery  object. 

BOSTON,  7th  month,  30th,  1841. 

There  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  in  what  man- 
ner Mr.  Whittier  availed  himself  of  this  generous 
gift,  or  indeed  whether  he  accepted  it  for  his  per- 
sonal needs.  He  certainly  took  no  trip  for  his 
health.  We  find  among  his  papers  a  letter  from 
Lewis  Tappan,  dated  March  14,  1842,  in  which  he 
speaks  of  a  thousand  dollars  left  with  him  by 
Joseph  Sturge  "  for  the  furtherance  of  the  anti- 
slavery  cause,"  of  which  he  has  expended  all  but 
four  hundred  dollars,  and  he  asks  Mr.  Whittier's 
advice  as  to  the  disposal  of  this  amount.  This  is 
probably  the  fund  that  was  originally  intended  for 
Mr.  Whittier,  and  which  he  declined  to  accept. 

While  traveling  with  Joseph  Sturge,  Mr.  Whit- 
tier wrote  as  follows  to  his  cousin,  Moses  A.  Cart- 
land,  from  Philadelphia,  May  12, 1841 :  — 


272        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

"  I  have  been  for  the  last  three  weeks  peregri- 
nating with  Joseph  Sturge,  trying  to  fan  into  life 
the  all  but  expiring  embers  of  abolition.  We 
have  labored  with  Friends  and  Gentiles,  Jew  and 
Greek,  and  have  had  much  to  encourage  us  on  the 
whole.  Thee  would  like  Joseph  Sturge  much,  —  a 
fine,  free-hearted  nobleman  of  nature ;  no  preten- 
sion ;  a  clear-headed,  stout-hearted,  practical  phi- 
lanthropist ;  the  '  Howard  of  our  day,'  as  he  is 
called  in  England.  Rogers  and  Garrison  have 
been  in  Philadelphia,  but  I  did  not  see  them,  being 
most  of  the  time  in  Baltimore  and  Wilmington." 

Mr.  Sturge  found  many  Quakers  who,  like 
Whittier,  were  ready  to  assist  him  in  delivering  his 
anti-slavery  message  to  the  American  Friends,  but 
the  Society  as  a  whole  was  rather  cool  and  indif- 
ferent, both  at  Philadelphia  and  at  Newport.  In 
writing  about  it  to  a  cousin  in  Philadelphia,  some 
months  after  Sturge's  return  to  England,  Mr. 
Whittier  says :  — 

"  When  I  was  in  your  city  last,  I  was  so  anxious 
about  J.  Sturge's  visit,  and  the  course  of  Friends, 
and  the  little  difficulties  which  we  met  with,  that 
I  was  hardly  myself.  I  recollect  calling  at  the 

L 's  some  two  or  three  times,  when  my  mind 

was  altogether  away  and  dwelling  upon  other 
things.  What  they  thought  of  me  I  have  often 
marveled  at  since.  It  was  not  on  my  own  account 
that  I  felt  uneasiness,  —  I  am  used  to  such  things, 
• —  but  I  felt  keenly  for  my  English  friend." l 

1  In  a  letter  to  Sturge,  lie  says :  "  This  cause  [anti-slavery]  has 
been  to  me  what  the  vision  on  the  house-top  of  Cornelius  was 
to  Peter  —  it  has  destroyed  all  narrow  sectarian  prejudices,  and 
made  me  willing1  to  be  a  man  among  men." 


LETTERS   TO  JOSEPH  STURGE        273 

His  sister  Elizabeth,  writing  to  the  same  cousin, 
refers  to  the  same  matter  :  — 

"  How  we  did  love  Joseph  Sturge !  His  bland, 
kind  face  will  be  a  joy  in  my  memory  forever. 
He  must,  he  will  do  good  among  us.  I  am  afraid 
I  shall  not  love  my  own  Yearly  Meeting  as  well  as 
I  used  to,  now  they  have  folded  their  idle  hands, 
when  so  kindly  requested  to  labor  in  their  own 
way,  thus  wrapping  the  mantle  of  their  own  slum- 
ber which  is  unto  death  about  a  Christian  bro- 
ther's labors  of  love.  I  am  a  very  naughty,  wicked 
girl,  I  know,  and  I  hardly  dare  make  up  my  mind 
about  such  important  movements.  May  love, 
charity,  hope,  and  patience  be  given  to  all!  " 

Mr.  Whittier,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Sturge,  related 
this  instance,  which  occurred  under  the  administra- 
tion of  John  Tyler,  to  illustrate  the  all-pervading 
espionage  of  the  slave  power,  which  dictated  every 
appointment  to  office  from  a  letter-carrier  to  an 
ambassador :  "  The  newly  appointed  postmaster 
of  Philadelphia  employed  among  his  numerous 
clerks  and  letter-carriers  Joshua  Coffin,  who, 
some  three  years  ago,  aided  in  restoring  to  liberty 
a  free  colored  citizen  of  New  York,  who  had  been 
kidnapped  and  sold  into  slavery.  The  appoint- 
ment of  the  postmaster  not  being  confirmed,  he 
wrote  to  his  friends  in  Congress  to  inquire  the 
reason,  and  was  told  that  the  delay  was  occasioned 
by  the  fact  that  he  had  employed  Coffin  as  one  of 
his  letter-carriers !  Coffin  was  immediately  dis- 
missed, and  in  a  few  days  the  Senate  confirmed 
the  appointment !  " 

In  another  letter  to  his  English  correspondent 


274        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

Mr.  Whittier  says :  "  To  every  well-wisher  of 
America  it  must  be  a  matter  of  interest  and  satis- 
faction to  know,  that  there  is  a  growing  determi- 
nation in  the  Free  States  to  meet  the  combination 
of  slaveholders  in  behalf  of  slavery,  by  one  of 
freemen  in  behalf  of  liberty ;  and  thus  compel  the 
party  politicians,  on  the  ground  of  expediency,  if 
not  of  principle,  to  break  from  the  thralldom  of 
the  slave  power,  and  array  themselves  on  the  side 
of  freedom."  He  has  here  outlined  the  policy  to 
which  he  adhered  steadily  and  consistently  in  all 
the  political  work  of  his  life. 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  Lucy  Hoop- 
er's sisters,  immediately  after  hearing  of  her  death : 

AMESBUKY,  8th  mo.,  6,  1841. 

I  have  just  seen  in  the  Boston  papers  a  notice 
of  the  death  of  Lucy.  The  news  has  come  to  me 
unexpected  —  sudden.  I  was  not  prepared  for 
such  a  termination  of  her  illness.  Sick  myself,  I 
cannot  write  you  a  very  long  letter,  nor  perhaps 
would  you  wish  it ;  for  what  can  I  say  to  comfort  you 
under  your  new  bereavement  —  what  condolence 
can  I  offer  to  those  who  have  been  able  fully  to 
understand  and  appreciate  the  purity  and  beauty 
of  the  spirit  which  has  just  passed  from  among 
you?  He,  alone,  who  loveth  those  whom  He  chas- 
teneth  can  comfort  and  sustain  you  under  such  a 
trial  as  yours.  To  Him,  who  hath  taken  to  the 
arms  of  His  Love  our  dear  Lucy,  I  can  alone  com- 
mend you. 

When  in  New  York  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  I 
might  have  seen  Lucy ;  and  I  blame  myself  for 


DEATH  OF  LUCY  HOOPER  275 

yielding  to  my  own  feelings  of  sickness  and  lassi- 
tude, and  not  calling  again,  before  I  left.  I  in- 
tended to  have  spent  the  evening  of  Tuesday  with 
you,  but  was  confined  to  my  room  all  the  afternoon 
and  evening  by  severe  pain,  and  the  next  day  I  was 
under  the  necessity  of  leaving.  At  Boston,  I  was 
conversing  with  H.  T.  Tuckerman  about  Lucy  — 
the  very  day  before  her  death.  I  had  never  seen 
him  before,  but  his  acquaintance  with  you  made 
him  seem  like  an  old  friend.  Do  write  me,  and 
let  me  know  the  many  particulars  of  her  last  ill- 
ness, and  of  the  last  mournful  scene.  I  am  no 
stranger  with  a  stranger's  careless  curiosity.  I 
have  had  few  friends  so  dear  to  me  —  so  often  in 
my  thoughts  —  as  Lucy. 

What  shadows  we  are !  —  It  seems  but  yesterday 
when  I  used  to  visit  you  in  the  long  winter  even- 
ings at  Brooklyn  —  since  Lucy  and  myself  stood 
by  her  own  loved  Merrimac  together  in  the  rich 
light  of  a  westering  August  sun.  And  can  it  be 
that  she  is  no  longer  with  us  !  —  But  she  is  not 
gone.  Her  pure  affections,  her  fine  intellect,  her 
faith  and  love,  and  simple  trust  in  her  Heavenly 
Father,  are  not  lost.  She  lives  still,  —  a  glorified 
dweller  in  the  same  universe  with  ourselves.  With 
the  deepest  sympathy  with  your  afflicted  mother 
and  with  yourselves  and  brother,  and  with  a  warm 
desire  that  this  dispensation  of  Providence  may  be 
blessed  to  us  all,  I  am  very  sincerely,  etc. 

It  has  often  been  a  matter  of  speculation 
whether  passages  in  "  The  Last  Eve  of  Summer," 
"  A  Sea  Dream,"  "  Memories,"  and  other  poems, 


276        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

were  not  the  expression  of  a  tender  emotion  which 
had  been  sacrificed  to  adverse  circumstances.  If 
there  were  ever  any  doubt  that  the  sweet  and  ten- 
der poem,  "  Memories,"  was  inspired  by  a  romance 
of  the  poet's  youth,  that  doubt  was  dispelled  by 
the  position  Whittier  has  given  these  charming 
verses  in  his  collected  works.  It  was  not  without 
thought  and  deliberation  that  in  1888  he  directed 
this  poem  should  be  placed  at  the  head  of  his 
"  Subjective  and  Reminiscent  "  poems.  He  had 
never  before  publicly  acknowledged  how  much  of 
his  heart  was  wrapped  up  in  this  delightful  play  of 
poetic  fancy.  The  poem  was  written  in  1841,  and 
although  the  romance  it  embalms  lies  far  back  of 
this  date,  possibly  there  is  a  heart  still  beating 
which  fully  understands  its  meaning.  The  biogra- 
pher can  do  no  more  than  make  this  suggestion, 
which  has  the  sanction  of  the  poet's  explicit  word. 
To  a  friend  who  told  him  that  "  Memories  "  was 
her  favorite  poem,  he  said,  "  I  love  it  too  ;  but  I 
hardly  knew  whether  to  publish  it,  it  was  so  per- 
sonal, and  near  my  heart." 

To  a  correspondent  who  expressed  compassion 
because  he  never  married,  and  asked  how  it  hap- 
pened, he  replied :  "  Circumstances  —  the  care  of 
an  aged  mother,  and  the  duty  owed  to  a  sister  in 
delicate  health  for  many  years  —  must  be  my  excuse 
for  living  the  lonely  life  which  has  called  out  thy 
pity.  It  is  some,  if  a  poor,  consolation  to  think 
that,  after  all,  it  might  have  been  a  great  deal 
worse.  My  life  has  been  on  the  whole  quite  as 
happy  as  I  deserved,  or  had  a  right  to  expect.  I 
know  there  has  something  very  sweet  and  beauti- 


LETTER    TO  ANN  E.   WENDELL        277 

f  ul  been  missed,  but  I  have  no  reason  to  complain. 
I  have  learned,  at  least,  to  look  into  happiness 
through  the  eyes  of  others,  and  to  thank  God  for 
the  happy  unions  and  holy  firesides  I  have  known." 

TO  ANN  E.  WENDELL. 
WALNUT  GBOVB,  LEE,  N.  H.,  7th  mo.,  1842.1 

I  like  thy  remarks  about  the  Liberty  party  and 
its  dangers,  and  I  thank  thee  for  thy  friendly  cau- 
tion. I  am  not  much  affected  by  the  whirl  of  poli- 
tics. I  act  because  I  believe  it  to  be  my  duty,  de- 
cidedly and  vigorously,  but  my  inward  self  is  calm. 
The  ambitions  and  selfish  hopes  of  other  years  do 
not  disturb  me.  Why  it  is  so,  I  know  not,  but  I 
can  mingle  in  the  exciting  scenes  of  an  election 
without  feeling  the  excitement  to  any  considerable 
extent.  My  enthusiasm  has  been  tamed  down  by 
that  hard  and  cross-grained  schoolmistress,  Expe- 
rience. .  .  .  Moses  and  Anna  are  disputing  as 
usual  upon  metaphysics,  Joseph  and  Jonathan 
are  in  full  blast  upon  politics,  and  I  am  holding  a 
sort  of  collateral  sideways  conversation  with  all 
parties ;  and  the  truth  is,  my  head  is  getting  into 
confusion,  its  ideas  holding  a  sort  of  internecine 
war  with  each  other.  I  can't  get  "  into  the  quiet." 
Tubal  Cain,  Jr.,  master  builder  on  the  Babel  cor- 
poration, was  never  more  bewildered  by  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues  than  I  am  at  this  moment. 
Then,  in  addition  to  all,  the  thermometer  has  boiled 
over.  The  heat  is  really  oppressive,  and  all  day  I 
have  been  ready  to  say  with  another :  — 

1  While  visiting  his  cousins,  the  Cartlands. 


278       A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

I  wake  from  dreams  of  polar  ice 

On  which  I  'd  been  a  slider, 
Like  fishes  dreaming  of  the  sea, 

And  waking  in  the  spider. 

P.  S.  I  must  defer  my  visit  to  Philadelphia 
until  thy  sister  M.  invites  Elizabeth  and  myself  to 
her  wedding.  Tell  her  that  this  fall  will  be  a 
suitable  time,  in  our  opinion.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  overdoing  this  courting  business  ;  for  my 
part,  were  I  in  Elisha's  place,  I  should  get  out  of 
all  patience.  To  be  obliged  to  travel  a  mile  and  a 
half  every  night,  year  in  and  year  out,  is  more  than 
I  could  submit  to,  even  for  so  good  a  girl  as  cousin 
M.  And  besides,  looking  at  it  absolutely,  is  n't 
it  rather  ridiculous  for  two  young  folks  ?  Why 
not  marry  at  once  and  have  done  with  it  ? 

TO  HARRIET  MINOT. 

AMESBURY,  5th  mo.,  5,  1842. 

H.  C.  Wright,  as  I  learn  from  the  "  Liberator," 
is  going  to  England  to  discuss.  In  view  of  the 
state  of  things  in  that  country,  would  it  not  be 
better  to  spend  the  money  required  for  his  outfit 
and  salary  in  purchasing  barrels  of  beef  and  flour 
for  the  starving  families  of  Manchester  and  Leeds  ? 
Discussion  is  doubtless  good,  but  sometimes  bread 
and  meat  are  better. 

TO  ANN  E.  WENDELL. 

8th  mo.,  19,  1842. 

The  serene,  calm  faith  which  breathes  through 
thy  letters  rebukes  at  times  my  own  restless  and 
inquiring  spirit.  I  learn  to  love  through  them  the 


LETTER   TO  ANN  E.    WENDELL         279 

wise  philosophy  which,  estimating  its  poor  and 
finite  powers  by  the  weighty  and  awful  Idea  of 
Infinite  Intelligence  and  Omnipotence,  ceases  to 
search  into  the  mysteries  of  its  own  being  and  of 
the  Divine  economy,  and  bows  with  veiled  eye  and 
simple  submission  to  the  will  of  the  Universal 
Father.  .  .  .  How  vividly  thy  letter  has  brought 
you  all  before  me,  in  beautiful  La  Grange,  and 
how  happy  I  should  be  to  be  able  to  look  in  upon 
you,  and  to  repeat  my  stroll  up  the  banks  of  the 
river,  to  the  old  church,  the  graveyard  and  its 
white  stones,  overhung  with  the  green  forest  I 
How  strange  it  is  that  the  momentary  glimpse  of 
a  landscape,  a  smile,  the  tone  of  a  word  spoken 
carelessly,  a  tree,  the  shadow  of  a  cloud  on  the 
hillside,  should  burn  themselves  like  enamel  upon 
the  mind,  and  live  there  ever  after  a  part  of  our 
conscious  being ! 

TO   THE   SAME. 

8th  mo.,  1843. 

I  should  be  heartily  glad  to  visit  Philadelphia, 
to  sit  with  cousin  Ann,  and  discuss  upon  the  great 
problems  of  human  life  and  destiny,  and  not  upon 
those  high  abstractions  alone,  but  upon  the  house- 
hold things,  the  simple,  the  tender,  and  the  beauti- 
ful of  daily  life,  which 

"  Lie  scattered  at  the  feet  of  man  like  flowers," 

and  talk  with  thy  mother  about  Luther,  Melanch- 
thon,  and  Pope  and  Cardinal,  and  Fathers  and 
Councils.  Speaking  of  these  matters,  does  thee 
read  much  of  the  Puseyism  controversy  which  is 
now  going  on  ?  The  English  Episcopal  Church 


280        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

seems  ready  to  go  over  to  Popery  in  earnest.  Has 
thee  noticed  the  general  tendency  towards  the  old 
trust  in  man,  —  in  priests,  sacrifices,  and  ghostly 
mummery  and  machinery  ?  To  me  it  seems  to  bid 
fair  to  swallow  up  everything  save  Quakerism  of 
the  old  stamp,  which  has  this  advantage,  that  its 
distinctive  characteristic  is  the  entire  rejection  of 
all  ceremonial,  the  total  disbelief  in  the  power  of 
pope,  priest,  or  elder  to  give  a  ransom  for  the  soul 
of  another.  Well,  let  the  world,  sick  of  doubt  and 
infidelity,  go  back  and  try  once  more  the  old 
superstitions  which  the  Voltaires  and  Gibbons  and 
Humes  of  the  last  century  exposed  to  scorn  and 
derision.  Let  the  old  tricks  of  monks  and  priests 
again  deceive  and  amuse  self -blinded  Christendom. 
I  have  a  strong  faith  —  it  seems  almost  like  pro- 
phecy —  that  the  result  will  be,  ere  the  lapse  of  two 
centuries,  a  complete  and  permanent  change  in  the 
entire  Christian  world.  Weary  and  disgusted 
with  shams  and  shadows,  with  the  effort  to  believe 
a  few  miserable  worms  of  the  dust  the  sole  dis- 
pensers of  Heaven's  salvation,  men  will  awake  to 
the  simple  beauty  of  practical  Christianity.  Love 
will  take  the  place  of  fast,  penance,  long  prayers, 
and  heathenish  sacrifices;  altar,  church,  priest, 
and  ritual  will  pass  away  ;  but  the  human  heart 
will  be  the  Holy  of  Holies,  where  worship  will 
still  be  performed,  not  in  set  forms,  and  on  partic- 
ular occasions,  but  daily  and  hourly  a  worship 
meet  and  acceptable  to  Him  who  is  not  deceived 
by  the  pomp  of  outward  ceremonial,  and  who  loves 
mercy  better  than  sacrifice.  ...  I  had  a  visit 
from  Lewis  Tappan  and  wife  and  daughter,  the 


LOYALTY   TO   QUAKERISM  281 

other  day ;  he  is  just  from  England.  He  says  the 
Friends  there  were  very  anxious  to  have  the  pro- 
slavery  Methodists,  Baptists,  etc.,  of  America  ex- 
posed in  the  World's  Convention,  but  evidently 
feared  to  hear  the  truth  of  the  course  of  Friends 
in  America  disclosed.  If  I  had  nothing  else  to 
be  thankful  for,  I  should  still  feel  grateful  that 
I  have  not  become  a  bigoted  sectarian.  To  me, 
Quaker  and  Catholic  are  alike,  both  children  of 
my  Heavenly  Father,  and  separated  only  by  a 
creed,  to  some,  indeed,  a  barrier  like  a  Chinese 
wall,  but  to  me  frail  .and  slight  as  a  spider's  web. 
...  I  think  some  of  attending  the  great  anti- 
slavery  convention  at  Buffalo  on  the  30th  and  31st 
of  this  month. 

With  all  his  charity  for  other  sects,  Mr.  Whittier 
held  firmly  to  the  faith  in  which  he  was  educated. 
He  did  not  like  to  see  the  Friends  adopting  the 
evangelizing  methods  of  other  denominations.  He 
used  to  quote  with  approval  a  remark  made  to  him 
by  Kev.  Dr.  Withington,  of  Newburyport,  who 
said :  "  I  am  a  Calvinist ;  you  are  a  Quaker.  We 
are  in  essentials  in  unity.  But  you  will  remain  a 
Quaker  to  the  end,  and  I  a  Calvinist.  It  is  better 
so.  I  don't  believe  in  spiritual  chowder."  Mr. 
Whittier  did  not  object  to  the  lively  music  and 
spirited  exhortation  of  the  Methodists,  but  he 
thought  that  the  Quakers  made  a  "  spiritual  chow- 
der "  of  it  when  they,  who  as  a  class  had  no  ear 
for  music  and  few  of  the  graces  of  oratory,  under- 
took to  imitate  the  methods  of  sects  in  which  music 
and  elocution  are  carefully  studied,  and  the  meet- 


282        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

ings  of  which  are  considered  a  failure  if  all  the 
time  is  not  "occupied."  He  loved  best  the  old- 
fashioned  Quaker  meetings  in  which  the  silence 
was  not  broken  unless  some  weighty  word  pressed 
for  utterance.  On  one  occasion  he  was  discussing 
with  a  cultured  Friend  the  inarticulate  groanings 
which  punctuated  the  remarks  of  some  of  the 
speakers  of  their  faith.  His  friend  said,  "  Let  us 
discourage  this  mannerism  by  calling  it  grunting." 
"Thee  better  not  do  it,"  gravely  replied  Mr. 
Whittier ;  "  if  thee  take  away  the  grunt,  there  's 
nothing  left." 

When  reference  was  made  to  the  Quaker  misuse 
of  English  grammar,  Mr.  Whittier  would  say  that 
it  had  been  the  manner  of  speech  of  his  people  for 
two  centuries,  and  he  clung  to  it  with  especial  fond- 
ness because  it  was  his  mother's  language.  Occa- 
sionally, in  talking  with  strangers,  he  would  adopt 
the  usual  form,  but  he  rarely  did  so  in  his  letters, 
either  in  dates  or  in  personal  pronouns.  He  was 
accustomed  to  say  that  the  Quaker  costume  had  its 
use  in  keeping  Friends  from  indulging  in  the  fri- 
volities of  the  world's  people.  He  was  never  in  a 
theatre  or  a  circus  in  his  life.  He  bore  his  testi- 
mony to  the  peculiarities  of  his  sect  on  all  occasions. 
When  a  member  of  the  legislature,  he  adhered  to 
the  Quaker  custom  in  the  matter  of  the  oath,  and 
in  addressing  the  chair.  When  a  fellow  member 
died  he  declined  to  wear  crape  on  his  arm,  and  the 
practice  was  given  up  after  that  time.  When  he 
became  Secretary  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  he  succeeded  a  secretary  who  kept  dates 
in  the  customary  way.  Lewis  Tappan,  looking  at 


LOYALTY   TO   QUAKERISM  283 

his  neat  records,  was  puzzled  by  the  Quaker  dates, 
but  he  laughed  as  he  read  "  12th  mo.,  6th,"  or  "  2d 
day  evening,"  and  said  he  had  no  objection  to  this 
kind  of  date,  "  but  Friend  Whittier  must  be  here 
to  interpret." 

In  his  later  life  the  Quaker  was  shown  in  his 
dress  only  in  his  coat,  all  other  clothing  being  in 
the  prevailing  fashion.  This  coat  of  black  broad- 
cloth was  cut  in  the  orthodox  Quaker  style.  The 
Philadelphia  tailor  who  supplied  him  during  his 
residence  in  that  city  in  1838-1840,  sent  him  from 
time  to  time  all  the  coats  he  wore  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  without  the  slightest  change  in  style  or 
measurement. 

Of  innovations  in  the  methods  of  Quakerism  he 
would  say,  "  Our  folks  have  got  to  talking  too 
much;  they  even  want  a  glass  of  water  on  the 
table,  and  some  of  them  want  singing  in  the  meet- 
ings. I  tell  them  if  they  want  singing,  they  must 
get  the  world's  folks  to  do  it  for  them,  for  two 
hundred  years  of  silence  have  taken  all  the  sing 
out  of  our  people." 

The  skill  and  sagacity  Mr.  Whittier  had  shown 
in  his  editorial  work  upon  political  journals,  in 
managing  conventions,  and  in  influencing  legisla- 
tion, together  with  the  earnestness  of  his  advocacy 
of  the  reforms  then  demanding  attention,  gave  him 
prominence  among  the  men  who  decided  upon  the 
necessity  of  a  third  party,  since  neither  of  the  great 
national  parties  dared  grapple  with  the  issues  pre- 
sented by  the  aroused  conscience  of  the  nation. 

In  1834,  James  G.  Birney,  a  Kentucky  slave- 


284        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

holder,  came  out  in  favor  of  immediate  emancipa- 
tion, at  the  same  time  liberating  his  own  slaves. 
Finding  it  impossible  to  disseminate  his  views  in 
his  own  State,  he  moved  to  Cincinnati,  and  pub- 
lished a  paper  called  the  "  Philanthropist,"  which 
became  a  powerful  instrument  in  forming  public 
opinion.  His  experience  as  a  slaveholder,  his 
philanthropic  action  as  a  liberator,  and  the  readi- 
ness with  which  he  defended  his  opinions  with  his 
pen  and  upon  the  platform,  gave  him  importance 
in  the  ranks  of  the  abolitionists  who  favored  polit- 
ical action.  He  came  to  New  England  in  1835, 
and  received  much  attention  from  friends  of  the 
cause.  John  Gr.  Whittier,  Moses  A.  Cartland,  and 
others  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  on  the  28th  of 
May,  1835,  wrote  him  a  series  of  seven  questions 
covering  the  whole  ground  of  the  policy  to  be 
adopted  for  the  extinction  of  slavery,  and  his  full 
and  explicit  answer  was  widely  circulated.  He 
thought  that  under  the  Constitution  as  it  then 
existed,  operations  against  slavery  could  be  under- 
taken with  success  ;  that  there  was  no  need  of  tear- 
ing down  the  whole  structure  of  our  political 
institutions  to  extirpate  this  evil.  This  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  Liberty  party,  in  the  organization 
of  which  Mr.  Whittier  was  active  and  efficient. 
Birney  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  in  1840 
and  1844,  arid  was  supported  by  Mr.  Whittier  in 
both  these  campaigns.  The  Liberty  party  of  the 
North  Essex  district  nominated  Mr.  Whittier  for 
Congress,  and  so  long  as  he  was  in  no  danger  of 
being  elected  he  did  not  object  to  being  a  candi- 
date. But  at  length  his  party  became  strong 


POLITICAL    WORK  285 

enough  in  the  district  to  cause  alarm  to  the  Whigs, 
for  a  coalition  with  the  Democrats  was  threatened, 
and  such  a  coalition  would  certainly  have  been 
favored  by  Mr.  Whittier  if  an  anti-slavery  candi- 
date could  have  been  found  among  the  Democrats 
of  North  Essex  who  possessed  such  qualifications 
as  caused  the  concentration  of  the  Liberty  vote  of 
South  Essex  upon  Robert  Rantoul,  and  elected 
him.  Mr.  Whittier  had  a  hand  in  managing  this 
last-named  combination,  and  had  reason  to  be 
proud  of  the  record  of  Rantoul  in  Congress,  as  is 
shown  in  his  fine  poetic  tributes  to  his  memory. 
In  1842,  both  Whigs  and  Democrats  nominated 
men  for  Congress  from  whom  Whittier  could 
obtain  no  pledges  in  behalf  of  the  cause  he  had  at 
heart.  He  therefore  prevented  an  election  by 
remaining  the  third-party  candidate  during  many 
successive  trials,  through  the  year  1843,  the  dis- 
trict in  the  mean  time  being  unrepresented  in  Con- 
gress. At  each  trial  Mr.  Whittier 's  vote  increased. 
At  last,  in  December,  1843,  an  article  appeared  in 
the  Boston  "  Courier,"  said  to  have  been  suggested 
by  Daniel  Webster,  advising  the  Whigs  in  North 
Essex  to  drop  their  candidate  and  unite  upon 
Whittier,  as  he  was  and  always  had  been  a  Whig 
in  principle,  and  was  to  be  preferred  to  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate.  Some  of  the  friends  of  the  Whig 
candidate  resented  this  interference  from  outside 
the  district,  and  brought  up  against  Whittier  a 
charge  that  he  had  on  several  occasions  worked  for 
the  Democrats,  notably  in  the  case  of  Robert 
Rantoul  when  named  for  the  senatorship  and 
Marcus  Morton  for  the  governorship.  The  "  Cou- 


286        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

rier  "  had  spoken  of  Whittier  as  a  mechanic,  and 
to  this  a  Whig  paper  in  the  district  responded : 
"  It  is  true  that  in  youth  he  was  obliged  to  learn  a 
mechanical  trade,  but  the  editor  of  the  '  Courier ' 
would  recognize  little  of  the  mechanic  in  the  sleek- 
looking  kid-gloved  beau  of  the  last  seven  years. 
He  has  no  more  sympathy  with  mechanics  than 
with  Whigs.  The  Whigs  can  never  come  into 
support  of  John  G.  Whittier  until  they  lose  all 
regard  for  principle  and  all  self-respect." 

Notwithstanding  this  blast  from  the  party  organ, 
as  the  day  of  election  approached,  it  seemed  proba- 
ble that  the  advice  of  Webster  would  be  heeded. 
Whittier  became  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  being 
elected,  and  immediately  wrote  a  letter  declining 
the  candidacy.  The  Liberty  candidate  who  took 
his  place  had  not  his  personal  popularity,  and  the 
Whigs  at  once  elected  their  man.  If  Whittier's 
health  had  permitted,  he  would  have  remained 
in  the  field,  and  if  elected  would  have  made  an 
efficient  member  of  Congress,  with  an  influence 
upon  legislation  superior  to  that  of  many  men 
with  readier  tongues.  His  ambition  was  distinctly 
in  that  direction  ;  but  he  found  it  necessary  to 
heed  the  admonition  of  his  medical  adviser,  and 
keep  on  the  outer  circles  of  the  maelstrom  of  poli- 
tics. All  his  life  he  was  in  touch  with  the  politi- 
cal movements  of  the  country,  and  was  the  trusted 
adviser  of  statesmen.  A  kind  Providence,  how- 
ever, by  a  seeming  affliction,  had  set  him  apart 
for  a  still  higher  usefulness. 

Rev.  John  Pierpont,  pastor  of  the  Hollis  Street 
church,  Boston,  was  in  these  days  causing  a  great 


POLITICAL    WORK  287 

stir  throughout  New  England  by  a  bold  and  uncom- 
promising determination  to  speak  freely  in  his  pul- 
pit in  favor  of  temperance  and  anti-slavery  reforms, 
notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  many  of  the  most 
influential  people  in  his  own  society.  The  popu- 
larity thus  acquired  Mr.  Whittier  thought  might 
be  made  available  to  the  Liberty  party,  if  Mr0 
Pierpont  would  consent  to  accept  a  nomination  for 
Congress.  Accordingly  he  wrote  to  Samuel  E. 
Sewall,  under  date  of  February  12,  1842 :  — 

"  I  wrote  some  days  ago  to  John  Pierpont  about 
the  nomination,  on  my  own  responsibility,  as  an 
individual,  and  have  received  a  line  from  him.  As 
I  understand  it,  he  is  willing  to  stand  as  our  candi- 
date ;  but  thinks  it  due  to  those  of  his  society  who 
have  so  faithfully  stood  by  him  in  his  contest  with 
the  powers  of  rum  to  consult  a  little  their  feelings 
in  the  matter  —  or  at  least  the  feelings  of  two  or 
three  of  the  leading  members.  I  understand  he 
has  consulted  F.  Jackson  about  it ;  Jackson,  I  think, 
would  offer  no  decided  objection.  Wilt  thou  imme- 
diately see  Alden  or  Dr.  Mann,  and  if  it  is  judged 
best,  call  on  two  or  three  of  the  most  prominent  of 
the  society.  It  would  be  well  to  have"  their  concur- 
rence and  aid.  It  should  be  presented  to  them  in 
its  most  favorable  aspect :  that  it  is  the  strongest 
testimony  which  we  can  render  to  the  noble  reformer 
and  the  firm  and  faithful  friends  who  have  sus- 
tained him  in  the  Hollis  Street  pulpit ;  that  there 
is  even  a  reasonable  probability  that  he  may  be 
elected;  that  there  is  perfect  enthusiasm  for  him 
among  all  to  whom  the  subject  of  his  nomination 
has  been  mentioned.  Has  anything  been  done 


288        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

about  securing  the  State  House  for  our  evening 
meetings  ?  If  Pierpont  is  at  home,  ask  him  not  to 
leave  Boston,  if  he  can  avoid  it,  until  after  the 
convention.1  I  wish  to  see  him,  as  if  I  am  able  I 
shall  be  in  Boston  before  the  meeting." 

In  March,  1842,  Mr.  Whittier  wrote  to  Mr. 
Sewall :  "  I  fear  we  shall  get  dragged  into  a  war 
after  all,  —  a  war  in  defense  of  the  vilest  negro 
traffic  existing  anywhere  save  on  the  African 
coast !  It  is  unendurable !  And  if  Texas  is  to  be 
added  to  us,  as  there  are  no  doubtful  indications, 
let  us  say,  Disunion  before  Texas !  .  .  .  By  letters 
from  England  I  find  that  our  minister  at  Paris, 
General  Cass,  has  entitled  himself  to  the  Presidency 
by  his  vigorous  efforts  for  the  protection  of  that 
Democratic  branch  of  commerce,  —  the  foreign 
slave  trade !  "  The  letter  containing  these  passages 
is  sealed  with  a  wafer  bearing  this  inscription : 
"  The  minister  who  defends  slavery  defends  sin, 
and  is  false  to  his  trust." 

The  "  Pioneer  "  magazine,  mentioned  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Mr.  Lowell,  was  a  literary  and 
critical  monthly,  published  in  Boston  by  Leland 
&  Whitney,  and  edited  by  James  Eussell  Lowell 

1  Mr.  Pierpont  received  the  nomination  for  Congress  from  the 
Liberty  party  convention,  but  declined  it  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Whit- 
tier,  in  which  he  said  that  he  must  postpone  his  work  for  the 
slave  until  a  minister  of  the  gospel  became  a  free  man  ;  "  for  he 
can  never  be  so,"  he  adds,  "  so  long  as  the  pulpit  is  controlled  by 
the  pews.  This  freedom  is  prior  in  the  order  of  time  to  the  free- 
dom of  the  slave,  and  this  freedom  my  friends  and  myself  are 
endeavoring  to  vindicate,  where  it  has  been  openly  and  power- 
fully assailed.  Let  us  work  out  our  problem,  —  a  labor  quite  se- 
vere enough  for  the  hands  engaged  in  it,  —  and  yours,  my  friend, 
•will  be  worked  out  the  sooner  for  it." 


THE  "PIONEER"   MAGAZINE  289 

and  Robert  Carter.  Only  three  numbers  were  is- 
sued, for  the  months  of  January,  February,  and 
March,  1843.  It  had  a  good  sale  at  the  start,  and 
the  publishers,  encouraged  by  this,  launched  into 
other  enterprises  that  proved  disastrous  failures, 
and  caused  the  suspension  of  the  magazine.  It 
was  Lowell's  first  venture  in  editorship.  The 
poem  of  Whittier's  in  the  "  Democratic  Review  " 
to  which  he  refers  was  in  the  October  number, 
1842,  and  was  entitled  "  Lines  on  reading  several 
Pamphlets  published  by  Clergymen  against  the 
Abolition  of  the  Gallows."  Lowell's  sonnets,  called 
out  by  reading  Wordsworth's  defense  of  capital 
punishment,  appeared  in  the  May  number  of  the 
"  Review,"  and  they  must  have  been  almost  unin- 
telligible to  the  readers  of  the  magazine,  for  the 
reason  he  gives.  They  may  be  found  in  Lowell's 
collected  works.  The  poem  Mr.  Whittier  contrib- 
uted to  the  "  Pioneer,"  in  response  to  the  re- 
quest of  the  ambitious  young  editor,  was  "  To  a 
Friend,  on  her  Return  from  Europe."  Mr.  Low- 
ell's letter  is  mutilated,  his  autograph  signature 
being  cut  from  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  remove  the 
date  and  a  few  of  the  first  words.  The  postmark 
shows  it  was  written  in  October,  1842  :  — 

..."  January  next  ...  a  magazine  under  my 
editorial  charge.  It  will  be  called  the  '  Pioneer,' 
and  it  is  to  be  a  free  magazine.  I  mean  that  it 
shall  take  a  high  stand  in  Art,  and  also  hold  itself 
free  to  advance  or  comment  on  all  the  great  move- 
ments of  the  age.  It  is  to  keep  up  with  the  age  and 
not  behind  it ;  nay,  if  possible,  it  shall  run  before, 
as  its  name  would  indicate.  If  the  undertaking 


290        A  DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

succeeds,  I  shall  pay  authors  higher  than  any  other 
magazine  in  the  land,  regarding  things  and  not 
names,  and  paying  for  an  article's  worth  in  spirit 
rather  than  its  current  value  in  specie.  May  I 
hope  that  you  will  send  me  something  for  my  first 
number  ?  Any  little  poem  that  you  may  have  by 
you  will  be  very  acceptable  to  me.  I  cannot  prom- 
ise to  pay  you  very  much  at  first,  for  the  expense 
of  getting  up  such  a  work  makes  large  holes  in 
small  capitals.  But  I  trust  that  the  hope  of  aid- 
ing a  good  endeavor  will  be  enough  to  you.  I  am 
glad  to  see  you  down  on  the  cassocked  pleaders 
for  murder  in  the  '  Democratic  Review/  Some 
sonnets  of  mine  in  the  May  number  were  written 
on  reading  Wordsworth  in  favor  of  bloodshed, 
though  some  parts  of  them  were  most  unintelligi- 
ble by  the  fact  not  being  stated.  I  wish  I  were 
in  your  district  to  vote  for  you  as  member  of  Con- 
gress. But  you  must  take  my  good  hopes  instead." 
When  the  case  of  George  Latimer,  an  alleged 
fugitive  slave  from  Virginia,  was  on  trial  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1842—43,  the  excitement  throughout 
the  State  was  intense.  It  was  arranged  by  the 
friends  of  liberty  that  conventions  should  be  held 
simultaneously  in  each  county,  and  the  2d  of 
January,  1843,  was  the  day  appointed.  The  con- 
vention for  Essex  County  was  held  at  Ipswich,  and 
the  occasion  was  made  memorable  by  the  reading 
of  the  intense,  almost  fierce,  stanzas  written  for 
the  occasion  by  John  G.  Whittier.  It  was  the 
splendid  poem,  "  Massachusetts  to  Virginia," 
which  was  printed  in  the  "  Liberator  "  of  January 
27,  1843,  without  the  name  of  the  author.  But 


THOMAS   WENT  WORTH  HIGGINSON    291 

as  no  other  rnan  could  have  written  these  powerful 
lines,  the  public  knew  at  once  to  whom  to  credit 
them.  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson  says  that 
he  first  met  Whittier  at  about  this  time,  and  this 
is  his  account  of  the  meeting :  — 

"It  was  in  1843,  when  the  excitement  of  the 
4  Latimer  case '  still  echoed  through  Massachusetts, 
and  the  younger  abolitionists  were  full  of  'the  joy 
of  eventful  living.'  I  was  then  nineteen,  and  saw 
the  poet  for  the  first  time  at  an  eating-house 
known  as  Campbell's,  then  quite  a  resort  for  re- 
formers of  all  sorts.  I  saw  before  me  a  man  of 
striking  personal  appearance;  tall,  slender,  with 
olive  complexion,  black  hair,  straight  black  eye- 
brows, brilliant  eyes,  and  an  Oriental,  Semitic 
cast  of  countenance.  This  was  Whittier  at  thirty- 
five.  I  lingered  till  he  rose  from  the  table,  and 
then  advancing,  I  said  with  boyish  enthusiasm 
and  I  doubt  not  with  boyish  awkwardness  also, 
'  I  should  like  to  shake  hands  with  the  author  of 
"  Massachusetts  to  Virginia."  :  The  poet,  who  was, 
and  is,  one  of  the  shyest  of  men,  broke  into  a 
kindly  smile,  and  said  briefly,  '  Thy  name,  friend  ?  * 
I  gave  it,  we  shook  hands,  and  that  was  all ;  but 
to  me  it  was  like  touching  a  hero's  shield,  and 
though  I  have  since  learned  to  count  the  friend- 
ship of  Whittier  as  one  of  the  great  privileges  of 
my  life,  yet  nothing  has  ever  displaced  the  recol- 
lection of  that  first  boyish  interview." 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother  in  Portland,  dated 
February  7,  1843,  Mr.  Whittier  says  :  — 

"  I  wrote  to  and  visited  Governor  Morton  and 
got  him  to  recommend  the  abolition  of  capital 


292        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

punishment  in  his  message  [in  1840].  I.  shall  try 
for  it  this  winter,  not,  however,  with  much  hope  of 
success.  Our  great  Latimer  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Legislature  with  62,791  names. 
The  way  we  shall  use  up  the  Virginians  is  a  cau- 
tion to  all  kidnappers.  The  Legislature  is  ready 
to  do  anything  for  us  ;  our  vote  for  Sewall  last  fall 
did  the  business.  [The  vote  for  the  Liberty  party 
candidate,  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  had  the  effect  to 
secure  the  election  of  the  Democratic  candidate, 
Governor  Morton,  for  the  second  time.  On  each 
occasion  he  was  elected  by  a  vote  of  one,  first  in 
the  popular  vote,  and  the  second  time  in  the  Legis- 
lature.] Tell  Nathan  Winslow  that  his  son-in-law 
[Sewall]  came  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  being 
governor.  But  for  half  a  dozen  refractory  mem- 
bers the  Whig  party  in  the  Legislature  would 
have  voted  for  him.  ...  Our  town  meeting  at 
Amesbury  comes  off  next  week.  As  it  happens 
that  at  this  time  there  are  all  over  the  region 
hereaway  what  are  called  4  revivals,'  and  as  our 
Liberty  party  active  men  are  mostly  deacons,  etc., 
they  will  be  kept  much  at  home,  and  the  '  enemy ' 
will  be  likely  to  prevail  in  one  quarter  while  they 
are  routing  him  in  another.  In  other  words,  if 
the  Devil  can't  get  the  Church,  he  will  take  the 
State,  rather  than  nothing." 

Mr.  Whittier's  acquaintance  with  and  friendship 
for  James  T.  Fields  dated  back  to  1839,  and  per- 
haps earlier.  In  that  year,  when  Whittier  was 
collecting  material  for  the  "  North  Star,"  in  Phila- 
delphia, Fields  contributed  a  poem  for  his  colleo 
tion.  Upon  Whittier's  return  to  Massachusetts, 


LETTER   TO  JAMES   T.  FIELDS          293 

he  found  young  Fields  connected  with  the  publish- 
ing house  of  AVm.  D.  Ticknor,  with  whom  he 
formed  a  partnership  in  1845.  The  first  volume 
of  Whittier's  published  by  this  house  was  "  Lays 
of  My  Home,  and  Other  Poems,"  which  was  issued 
iin  May,  1843.  Whittier's  correspondence  in  re- 
gard to  the  publication  of  this  book  was  with 
Fields.  In  April  he  wrote  the  following  letter, 
giving  a  list  of  the  poems  to  be  included  in  the 
book.  The  "  John  Gilpin  legend  "  to  which  he 
refers  was  first  published  in  the  "  North  Star," 
the  winter  of  1839-40.  "Lays  of  My  Home" 
was  the  first  book  from  the  sale  of  which  Mr. 
Whittier  realized  any  remuneration,  all  his  previ- 
ous collections  having  been  of  limited  circulation, 
or  issued  in  aid  of  "  the  cause  :  "  — • 

"  In  regard  to  the  matter  of  publication,  —  I 
know  little  or  nothing  about  it.  I  shall  leave  it 
altogether  to  you,  thinking  that  if  the  work  meets 
with  a  ready  sale,  you  will  do  me  justice,  as  I 
should,  I  am  free  to  confess,  like  to  realize  some- 
thing from  it.  Will  these  terms  answer  ?  .  .  .  I 
send  you  the  first  articles,  which  will  constitute 
about  one  third  or  quarter  of  the  book,  and  give  it 
its  name,  '  Lays  of  My  Home,  and  Other  Poems.' 
There  are  two  other  poems  which  belong  to  this 
part  of  the  book,  4  The  Funeral  Tree  of  the  Soko- 
kis,'  and  '  St.  John.'  I  have  no  copies  of  them; 
but  you  will  find  them  in  the  collection  of  friend 
Griswold,  or  in  the  'Knickerbocker'  for  1841, 
and  I  wish  you  to  procure  them  and  publish  them 
in  the  following  order:  1.  The  Merrimac;  2.  The 
Norsemen ;  3.  Ballads  of  Cassandra  Southwick ; 


294        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

4.  The  Funeral  Tree  of  the  Sokokis;  5.  St.  John. 
...  I  shall  have  no  preface,  except  a  single  page 
of  note  or  direction.  I  will  send  the  residue  of 
the  copy  as  soon  as  I  can  catch  it,  for  it  is  scat- 
tered, like  the  flying  leaves  of  the  Sibyl,  in  all 
directions.  ...  I  have  two  MS.  poems  which  I 
think  are  quite  as  good,  if  not  better,  than  any 
I  have  printed,  which  I  shall  send.  I  send  with 
this  i  The  Exiles,'  a  kind  of  John  Gilpin  legend. 
I  am  in  doubt  about  it.  Read  it  and  decide  for 
thyself  whether  it  is  worth  printing.  If  published 
it  should  go  in  after  '  St.  John.'  " 

For  some  reason,  "  The  Exiles  "  was  not  pub- 
lished in  "  The  Lays  of  My  Home  ; "  probably  Mr. 
Fields  advised  against  it.  All  the  twenty-three 
poems  in  this  little  volume  of  122  pages  are  re- 
tained in  the  latest  editions  of  the  complete  works 
of  the  poet. 

Thomas  Macey,  the  hero  of  the  ballad  of  "  The 
Exiles,"  was  a  resident  of  Amesbury.  The  house 
in  which  he  lived  previous  to  1664  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  is  known  as  "  the  Obadiah  Colby  place." 
In  that  year  he  sold  this  house,  and  removed  to 
"  Amesbury  Mills,"  the  village  built  about  the 
falls  of  the  Powow.  It  was  in  1659  that  he  har- 
bored the  Quakers,  in  defiance  of  the  act  of  the 
General  Court,  passed  in  1657.  It  was  down  the 
Powow  into  the  Merrimac  that  the  memorable 
race  with  the  sheriff  and  the  priest  began. 
When  Mr.  Whittier  wrote  the  ballad  he  evidently 
supposed  that  Macey's  residence  was  in  Haver- 
hill,  the  ancient  Pentucket,  as  is  shown  in  the 
stanza :  — 


POEMS   OF  PLACES  295 

"  By  green  Pentucket's  southern  slope 

The  small  boat  glided  fast ; 
The  watchers  of  the  Block-house  saw 
The  strangers  as  they  passed." 

in  this  poem  occurs  a  stanza  that  has  puzzled 
some  of  its  readers  who  are  familiar  with  the 
scenery  of  the  lower  Merrimac  :  — 

"  Oh,  beautiful !  that  rainbow  span 

O'er  dim  Crane-neck  was  bended ; 
One  bright  foot  touched  the  eastern  hills, 
And  one  with  ocean  blended." 

"  Crane-neck  "  hill  is  on  the  Newbury  side  ot  the 
river,  in  such  a  position  that  the  Maceys,  in  their 
boat,  would  not  have  seen  the  rainbow  arching 
over  it  as  described.  Mr.  Alfred  Ordway,  of 
Haverhill,  informs  the  writer  that  happening  to 
be  on  Job's  Hill,  close  by  the  Whittier  homestead, 
one  summer  afternoon,  a  shower  came  up,  and 
after  it  he  saw  Crane-neck  haloed  by  a  rainbow 
precisely  answering  the  description  in  the  poem. 
He  knew  at  once  that  the  poet  was  remembering 
just  such  a  scene  when  he  wrote  this  stanza. 
From  the  hill  of  his  boyhood  the  ocean  is  visible, 
as  it  could  not  have  been  from  a  boat  in  the  Mer- 
rimac, and  he  had  often  seen  the  "bright  foot" 
of  a  rainbow  blending  with  it,  while  the  top  of  the 
arch  was  over  Crane-neck. 

The  ballad  "  The  New  Wife  and  the  Old  "  is 
founded  on  one  of  many  marvelous  legends  con- 
nected with  the  family  of  General  Moulton,  of 
Hampton,  N.  H.,  of  whom  Mr.  Whittier  says  that 
he  was  regarded  by  his  neighbors  as  a  Yankee 
Faust,  in  league  with  the  adversary.  The  mansion 
of  General  Moulton  is  still  standing  in  Hampton, 


296        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

and  is  pointed  out  to  travelers  on  the  Boston  and 
Maine  Railroad.  In  going  westward,  the  hip- 
roofed  house  is  seen  on  the  left  side  of  the  track, 
soon  after  passing  the  Hampton  station.  A  lady 
in  Maiden,  Mass.,  who  is  the  great-granddaughter 
of  "  the  new  wife,"  wrote  to  Mr.  Whittier  in  1888, 
asking  him  the  source  of  his  information,  and 
sending  him  a  piece  of  the  wedding  silk  of  her 
ancestress.  He  replied :  "  The  story  of  the 
'  New  Wife  and  the  Old '  was  told  me  a  good 
many  years  ago  by  an  elderly  lady.  Since  then, 
I  have  received  a  letter  from  a  lady  who  at  one 
time  was  spending  the  summer  at  the  old  house  in 
Hampton.  She  said  strange  noises  were  heard  in 
the  rooms,  the  steps  and  rustling  dress  of  a  woman 
unseen  on  the  stairs,  etc.,  and  that  the  servants 
were  so  frightened  that  Rev.  Mr.  Milton  of  New- 
buryport  was  sent  for,  who  came  and  prayed,  and 
counseled  the  ghosts  to  depart.  I  hope  I  have 
not,  unintentionally,  misrepresented  General  Moul- 
ton  in  my  poem." 

Between  the  years  1837  and  1847,  a  large  num- 
ber of  Mr.  Whittier's  best  poerns,  and  several 
prose  sketches,  were  sent  by  him  to  the  "  Demo- 
cratic Review,"  published  in  Washington.  It  was 
to  this  magazine  that  for  this  decade  he  sent 
nearly  all  his  poems  that  did  not  directly  touch 
upon  the  question  of  slavery,  and  some  prose 
sketches.  It  was  a  partisan  magazine,  with  a 
large  proportion  of  its  circulation  at  the  South, 
but  Whittier  made  himself  a  most  welcome  con- 
tributor, though  many  a  stanza  expressed  quite 
plainly  his  abhorrence  of  slavery. 


THE  POEM  "TEXAS91  297 

The  series  of  "  Songs  of  Labor  "  was  begun  in 
the  "  Eeview,"  and  four  of  them  were  published 
in  1845  and  1846.  When  Mr.  Whittier  became 
connected  with  the  "  National  Era,"  he  finished 
the  series  in  that  paper.  The  poem  "Texas: 
Voice  of  New  England  "  was  called  for  by  James 
Eussell  Lowell,  in  a  letter  to  Whittier,  dated 
March  21,  1844.  In  this  letter  he  is  urgently  en- 
treated "  to  cry  aloud  and  spare  not  against  the 
cursed  Texas  plot."  Two  days  before  this  call, 
Lowell  had  published  in  the  Boston  "  Courier " 
his  "  Rallying  Cry  for  New  England  against  the 
Annexation  of  Texas,"  beginning  with  the  lines : 

"  Rise  up,  New  England,  buckle  on  your  mail  of  proof  sublime, 
Your  stern  old  hate  of  tyranny,  your  deep  contempt  of  crime  ; 
A  plot  is  hatching  now,  more  full  of  woe  and  shame 
Than  ever  from  the  iron  heart  of  bloodiest  despot  came." 

This  poem  of  Lowell's  appeared  anonymously, 
except  that  it  had  as  a  sub-head  the  lines,  "  By  a 
Yankee."  It  was  at  the  time  generally  supposed 
to  have  been  written  by  Whittier,  and  Whittier 
did  not  then  know  it  was  Lowell's.  His  first 
guess  was  that  Pierpont  was  its  author.  The  in- 
spiration of  his  own  "  Texas :  Voice  of  New  Eng- 
land" came  to  him  at  length,  and  he  sent  the 
poem  to  Lowell,  as  a  response  to  his  request.  It 
was  published  in  the  "  Courier "  for  April  17, 
1844,  with  the  following  preface  written  by 
Lowell :  — 

A  few  weeks  since,  some  verses  appeared  in 
the  "  Courier,"  which  were  generally  ascribed  to 
Whittier.  They  were  not  his,  however.  In  the 


298       A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

present  crisis  of  the  fate  of  the  Republic,  New 
England  listens  for  a  trumpet-call  from  her  Tyr- 
tasus.  Nor  will  she  be  disappointed.  Whittier 
has  always  been  found  faithful  to  the  Muses'  holy 
trust.  He  has  not  put  his  talent  out  at  profitable 
interest,  by  catering  to  the  insolent  and  Phari- 
saical self-esteem  of  the  times ;  nor  has  he  hidden 
it  in  the  damask  napkin  of  historical  common- 
places, or  a  philanthropy  too  universal  to  concern 
itself  with  particular  wrongs,  the  practical  redress- 
ing of  which  is  all  that  renders  philanthropy  of 
value.  Most  poets  are  content  to  follow  the  spirit 
of  their  age,  as  pigeons  follow  a  leaky  grain  cart, 
picking  a  kernel  here  and  there,  out  of  the  dry 
dust  of  the  past.  Not  so  Whittier.  From  the 
heart  of  the  onset  upon  the  serried  mercenaries  of 
every  tyranny,  the  chords  of  his  iron-strung  lyre 
clang  with  a  martial  and  triumphant  cheer ;  and 
where  Freedom's  Spartan  few  maintain  their  invio- 
late mountain  pass  against  the  assaults  of  slavery, 
his  voice  may  be  heard,  clear  and  fearless,  as  if 
the  victory  were  already  won.  It  is  with  the 
highest  satisfaction  I  send  you  the  inclosed  poem, 
every  way  worthy  of  our  truly  New  England  poet. 
I  trust  that  when  this  meets  his  eye,  the  few  words 
which  I  could  not  refrain  from  adding  by  way  of 
preface  will  not  be  deemed  impertinent.  L. 

Editor  Buckingham  "  could  not  refrain  "  from 
adding,  as  a  postscript  to  the  poem,  this  note  : 
"  If  any  of  our  Southern  readers  should  think  Mr. 
TV  hittier's  poem  a  little  fierce,  they  will  please  to 
recollect  Mr.  Hayne's  apology  for  South  Carolina 


THE  POEM  "  TEXAS  "  299 

nullification,  — '  Something  must  be  pardoned  to 
the  spirit  of  liberty ! ' ' 

The  poem  as  first  published  had  only  twenty 
three-line  stanzas,  instead  of  twenty-nine  as  it  now 
appears,  and  some  of  the  original  stanzas  have 
been  toned  down.  For  instance,  the  eighteenth 
stanza  of  the  first  version  reads  :  — 

"  And  when  vengeance  lights  your  skies, 
Hither  shall  ye  turn  your  eyes, 
As  the  damned  on  Paradise  !  " 

The  corresponding  stanza  of  the  poem,  as  it  now 
stands,  has  "  clouds "  for  "  lights  "  in  the  first 
line,  and  "  lost "  for  "  damned  "  in  the  last  line. 
The  fourteenth  stanza  was  originally  somewhat 
stronger  than  the  reading  adopted  in  all  later 
editions :  — 

"  Make  our  Union-band  a  chain, 
We  will  snap  its  links  in  twain, 
We  will  stand  erect  again  !  " 

This  was  changed  in  1846  to  the  following :  — 

"  If  with  added  weight  ye  strain 
On  th'  already  breaking  chain, 
Who  shall  bind  its  links  again  ?  " 

This  stanza  now  reads :  — 

"  Make  our  Union-band  a  chain, 
Weak  as  tow  in  Freedom's  strain 
Link  by  link  shall  snap  in  twain." 

The  fifteenth  stanza  was  remodeled  with  better 
success.  In  the  edition  of  1846  it  reads :  — 

"  Chain  of  parchment !  sand-  wrought  rope ! 
Shall  they  bind  the  planet  up 
Scattered  o'er  the  heaven's  blue  cope  ?  " 

These  lines  are  greatly  improved  in  the  latest 
revision  :  — 


300        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

"  Vainly  shall  your  sand-wrought  rope 
Bind  the  starry  cluster  up, 
Shattered  over  heaven's  blue  cope  !  " 

Both  poems,  Lowell's  and  Whittier's,  were  ablaze 
with  an  indignation  that  was  communicated  to 
receptive  minds  throughout  the  North,  and  although 
the  hour  was  not  yet  ripe  for  the  full  political 
effect  desired,  they  contributed  greatly  to  the  pro- 
motion of  a  feeling  antagonistic  to  the  spread  of 
the  institution  of  slavery  over  the  new  territory 
then  soon  to  be  acquired  by  an  unjust  war.  Whit- 
tier  had  sent  his  poem  to  Lowell  about  the  first  of 
April,  but  not  hearing  from  him,  on  the  morning 
of  the  17th  of  that  month  (the  very  day  it  was 
published  in  the  "  Courier  ")  wrote  as  follows  :  — • 

"  Some  week  or  ten  days  ago  I  sent  thee  a  piece 
on  the  Texas  conspiracy,  but,  as  I  have  heard  no- 
thing from  it,  presume  thee  have  been  absent,  or  that 
my  letter  failed  of  reaching  thee.  If  not  published, 
let  me  suggest,  as  the  '  Courier '  has  already  pub- 
lished an  article  on  the  subject,  that  it  be  sent  to 
the '  Daily  Chronicle,'  Leavitt's  paper.  In  hastily 
transcribing  the  piece,  I  omitted  two  verses,  and 
for  the  life  of  me,  as  I  cannot  recollect  the  remain- 
der, I  hardly  know  where  they  belong  —  I  believe, 
however,  after  the  stanza  ending  with  '  Freedom's 
oath.'  *  One  of  them  thee  will  see  is  an  asinine 
Scriptural  allusion  to  him  who  crouched  beneath 
burdens : — 

" '  What  though  Issachar  be  strong,  — 
He  hath  stooped  beneath  your  wrong  2 
Over-much  and  over-long ! 

1  The  stanza  now  ends  "  the  word  befitting  both." 

2  The  latest  version  is  :  — 

"Ye  may  load  his  back  with  wrong." 


THE  POEM  "TEXAS"  301 

"  '  Patience  with  her  cup  o'errun, 
With  her  weary  thread  outspun, 
Murmurs  that  her  work  is  done. 

"  '  Make  our  Union-band  a  chain,'  "  etc. 

"I  am  sorry  to  trouble  thee  with  this  matter. 
If  the  letter  containing  the  piece  has  not  been  le* 
ceived,  please  write  me  immediately." 

When  the  Boston  mail  arrived  at  Amesbury  that 
day,  he  found  his  poem  in  the  "  Courier,"  and  at 
once  sent  this  note  to  Lowell,  dated  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  17th  :  — 

"I  owe  thee  an  apology  for  troubling  thee  so 
often  with  my  notes ;  but  I  write  now  just  to  say 
that  I  have  seen  in  the  *  Courier '  of  to-day  the 
lines  I  sent  thee,  with  the  too  flattering  comments 
of  'L.'  I  thank  thee,  for  I  value  a  compliment, 
even  if  it  be  but  a  compliment,  from  such  as  thy- 
self, and  if  anything  of  mine  has  given  thee  half 
the  pleasure  which  thy  4  Burns/  '  Incident  in 
a  Railroad  Car,'  and  '  Glance  behind  the  Cur- 
tain '  have  given  me,  I  shall  not  doubt  the  sin- 
cerity of  thy  kind  words.  I  have  read,  since  the 
lines  were  written,  the  '  Rallying  Cry  '  over  again, 
and  as  Tristram  Shandy's  father  would  say,  4I 
like  it  hugely.'  It  has  lines  which  have  burned 
into  my  memory.  Whose  is  it?  Pierpont's?  I 
have  half  suspected  thee  of  the  mischief.  My  prin- 
cipal reason  for  writing  now  was  to  tell  thee  that 
not  hearing  anything  from  the  lines  I  sent  thee,  or 
from  thee,  and  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  thee 
was  absent  from  home,  and  being  somewhat  fear- 
ful that  the  iniquitous  deed  would  be  done  before 
I  could  utter  my  protest  against  it  (not  that  I 


302        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

expected  to  silence,  like  another  Orpheus,  the  Cer- 
berus of  Slavery  with  my  rhymes,  but,  like  Balma- 
whapple,  when  he  raised  his  horse-pistol  against  the 
Rock  of  Stirling,  I  wished  to  manifest  my  will  if 
not  my  power),  —  I  therefore  this  very  morning 
sent  a  copy  of  the  poem,  as  near  as  I  could  recol- 
lect it,  with  some  additional  verses,  to  the  '  Morn- 
ing Chronicle  '  (Leavitt's  new  daily).  I  mentioned 
to  him  that  I  had  sent  a  copy  some  time  before  to 
thee.  What  I  chiefly  regret  is  that  I  did  not  see 
the  4  Courier '  in  season  for  recalling  the  letter  to 
Leavitt,  and  I  fear,  therefore,  that  he  will  publish 
it,  unless  he  has  seen  the  same  in  the  '  Courier.' 
The  alterations  will  look  a  little  odd,  but  I  do  not 
see  how  it  can  be  helped  now.  But  enough  of 
this.  What  art  thou  doing  in  a  literary  way? 
As  for  myself,  what  with  cares  of  all  sorts  on  my 
hands,  the  principal  charge  of  our  weekly  paper 
here  (weakly  would  be  the  better  word),  and  the 
trouble  and  responsibility  of  an  active  politician  of 
the  Liberty  stamp,  as  well  as  the  constant  draw- 
back of  ill-health,  especially  since  these  eastern 
winds  have  been  blowing,  I  can  do  little  or  no- 
thing in  the  way  of  rhyme  or  reason.  Does  thee 
see  our  friend  Wm.  H.  Burleigh's  paper  ?  I  have 
met  with  it  occasionally,  and  like  it ;  it  is  manly, 
earnest,  and  gentlemanly.  E.  Burritt's  4  Christian 
Citizen '  will  also  do  good." 

Having  responded  to  Lowell's  call  for  a  Texas 
poem,  Whittier  soon  after  returned  the  compli- 
ment by  asking  his  brother  poet  to  write  a  song 
for  the  celebration  of  West  India  emancipation 
held  at  Salem,  August  1, 1844.  This  is  his  letter, 
making  the  request :  — 


EDITORIAL   WORK  303 

"  We  are  to  have  a  great  anti-slavery  meeting 
at  Salem,  on  the  1st  of  August,  at  which  Gerrit 
Smith,  of  New  York,  and  Dr.  Elder,  the  most  elo- 
quent speaker  in  western  Pennsylvania,  are  ex- 
pected to  be  present.  I  think  thee  once  promised 
me  a  Liberty  song,  —  and  I  now  claim  it  for  this 
meeting.  Give  me  one  which  shall  be  to  our 
cause  what  the  song  of  Rouget  de  Lisle  was  to  the 
French  Republicans,  —  such  an  one  as  the  maiden 
may  whisper  in  the 

'  Asphodel  flower-fleece 
She  walks  ankle  deep  in,' 

and  the  strong  man  may  sing  at  his  forge  and 
plough.  Think  of  it,  dear  L.,  and  oblige  me,  and 
do  a  great  work  for  holy  Liberty,  by  complying 
with  my  request.  Let  me  have  it  soon,  that  I  may 
hand  it  to  the  committee  of  arrangements." l 

Mr.  Whittier  resided  several  months  in  Lowell, 
in  1844,  editing  the  "  Middlesex  Standard,"  and 
soon  after  he  persuaded  the  proprietor  of  the 
Amesbury  "  Village  Transcript  "  to  change  its 
name  to  the  "  Essex  Transcript,"  and  to  make  it 
the  county  organ  of  the  Liberty  party.  For  about 
two  years  he  virtually  edited  the  "Transcript," 
writing  most  of  the  original  matter  it  contained, 
although  his  name  does  not  appear  in  it,  and 

1  Whether  Lowell  responded  to  this  call  is  not  certain,  but 
there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  a  poem  of  his  containing-  the  fol- 
lowing1 spirited  stanza,  written  in  1844,  was  the  one  sent  for  the 
Salein  celebration  :  — 

"  We  will  speak  out,  we  will  be  heard 
Though  all  earth's  systems  crack ; 
We  will  not  bate  a  single  word, 
Nor  take  a  letter  back !  " 


304        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

his  service  was  entirely  gratuitous.  Mr.  Stephen 
Larnson,  who  was  a  compositor  upon  the  paper, 
says  :  — 

"  He  did  not  pretend,  or  wish  it  understood,  that 
he  was  editor  of  the  paper ;  but  he  was  its  god» 
father,  and  undertook  to  see  that  it  went  the  way 
it  should  go.  He  did  not  sign  his  editorials. 
Often  sickness  or  absence  would  prevent  his  com- 
ing into  the  office  for  some  time,  and  Mr.  Abner 
L.  Bayley  and  Rev.  Mr.  Strickland  would  take  his 
place.  This  continued  about  four  years,  when  the 
proprietor,  Mr.  J.  M.  Pettengill,  sold  out,  and 
the  paper  became  the  village  organ  again.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Whittier  was  then  a  man  of  thirty-seven,  tall, 
straight,  and  spare,  with  sharp,  good  features, 
handsome  face,  black  eyes,  with  a  long-shaped 
head,  and  a  towering  intellectual  forehead.  He 
wore  a  Quaker  medium  hat,  as  well  as  coat,  and 
used  his  '  thees '  and  '  thous '  in  conversation. 
He  was  not  a  fluent  talker,  never  put  on  superior 
airs,  but  assumed  the  commonplace  in  his  inter- 
course with  neighbors,  friends,  and  the  villagers 
generally.  I  remember  one  or  two  stores,  kept  by 
good  friends  of  his,  —  one  a  Baptist  deacon,  the 
other  a  Friend,  —  where  he  used  to  visit  when 
going  to  the  post  office ;  and  it  was  his  wont  to  sit 
on  boxes  and  barrels,  as  we  have  seen  them  crowd 
together  in  a  small  village  grocery  store,  and  do  his 
visiting,  and  learn  the  news  of  the  day,  or  talk  over 
political  matters,  —  for  in  these  two  friends  he 
found  congenial  spirits.  This  was  one  of  his  ways 
of  taking  recreation.  In  my  three  years'  acquain- 
tance with  him,  and  observation  of  him  in  his 


REMINISCENCES  305 

daily  visits  to  our  office  to  read  the  papers,  I  no- 
ticed that  if  something  of  great  importance  at- 
tracted his  attention,  he  would  nervously  grasp  a 
pen,  and  thoughts  that  scintillated  from  his  brain 
would  rush  across  the  paper  before  him  at  a  rapid 
rate,  in  a  clear,  smooth,  running  hand,  that  would 
surprise  me.  When  the  written  pages  went  into 
the  copy  drawer,  it  would  be  found  in  a  beautiful 
flowing  hand,  with  seldom  an  emendation  or  any 
interlining,  he  held  his  ideas  in  such  perfect  form 
and  control.  I  used  to  call  it  a  4  lightning  hand,' 
so  rapidly  did  the  pen  fly  over  the  paper.  His 
sister  used  to  have  a  literary  circle  to  improve 
her  young  friends  in  various  ways.  My  father's 
adopted  daughter  was  a  member  of  it,  and  was  de- 
lighted to  think  she  was  worthy  to  belong  to  Miss 
Whittier's  circle.  Mr.  Whittier  used  to  lend 
sanction  and  help  to  these  friends  of  his  sister,  and 
became  acquainted  with  each  one.  He  used  al- 
ways, when  I  saw  him,  to  have  something  to  say 
about  this  sister  and  about  my  father,  and  I  was 
grateful  for  it." 

In  the  second  number  of  the  "  Standard  "  began 
the  series  of  papers  entitled  "The  Stranger  in 
Lowell,"  afterward  printed  in  book  form.  They 
picture  the  new  city  as  seen  by  the  stranger-poet 
as  he  wandered  in  his  hours  of  leisure  about  the 
streets,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  river  which  had 
only  recently  been  harnessed  to  do  the  work  of 
great  manufactories.  Mr.  Whittier's  editorial 
connection  with  the  "  Standard "  terminated  in 
March,  1845,  but  his  actual  residence  in  Lowell 
did  not  extend  over  a  period  of  more  than  six 


306        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

months.  In  October,  1844,  he  induced  the  Hon. 
C.  L.  Knapp,  of  Vermont,  to  come  to  Lowell  as 
his  assistant  in  conducting  the  paper,  and  grad- 
ually left  it  in  his  charge,  and  returned  to  his 
home  in  Amesbury,  whence  he  sent  occasional 
articles.  The  "  Standard  "  was  consolidated  with 
a  Worcester  paper  in  the  spring  of  1845,  and 
published  in  both  Worcester  and  Lowell. 

TO  JOHN  P.  HALE. 

24th  1st  mo.,  1845. 

Permit  me,  although  a  stranger  to  thee  person- 
ally, to  express  my  gratitude  for  and  heartfelt 
admiration  of  thy  letter  to  thy  constituents  on  the 
annexation  of  Texas.  I  would  rather  be  the  au- 
thor of  that  letter  than  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  Under  all  circumstances,  it  is  one  of  the 
boldest  and  noblest  words  ever  spoken  for  Liberty. 
May  God  give  thee  wisdom  and  firmness  to  main- 
tain the  glorious  and  most  honorable  position 
which  thou  hast  taken.  The  clamor  of  party,  the 
selfishness  of  office-seekers,  the  temporary  with- 
drawal of  popular  favor,  will  not,  I  trust,  move 
thee.  The  Rubicon  is  passed.  The  hand  which 
has  so  bravely  dashed  its  gauntlet  at  the  feet  of 
Slavery  must  now  do  manly  and  vigorous  battle. 
There  must  be  no  retreat,  no  concession,  now. 
On,  then,  to  the  noblest  combat  ever  waged  with 
Tyranny.  The  good  and  the  true  of  all  parties 
will  bid  thee  Godspeed.  Democracy  will  yet 
shake  off  the  loathsome  embraces  of  slavery. 
Living  as  I  do  on  the  borders  of  New  Hampshire,- 
I  find  that,  after  all,  the  better  portion  of  the 


ISAIAH  RYNDERS  807 

Democracy  believe  thee  to  be  right.  The  office- 
holders and  expectants,  however,  make  all  the  noise. 
I  sent  thee  yesterday  a  copy  of  the  "  Middlesex 
Standard,"  a  paper  for  which  I  write.  Believe  me 
with  high  respect  and  esteem  thy  friend. 

In  1845,  we  find  Mr.  Whittier  seriously  consid- 
ering a  plan  of  going  to  the  West  to  reside,  but  it 
was  soon  given  up. 

During  his  residence  in  New  York,  Mr.  Whit- 
tier  attended  several  meetings  that  were  broken  up 
by  mobs,  which  were  under  the  leadership  of  the 
noted  Isaiah  Rynders.  The  plan  adopted  by  Ryn- 
ders  did  not  involve  any  injury  to  the  persons  of 
the  anti-slavery  orators,  but  he  trained  his  follow- 
ers to  make  boisterous  disturbances,  which  would 
drown  the  voice  of  any  speaker.  Some  of  the  ab- 
olition leaders  were  disposed  to  pose  as  martyrs, 
but-  as  they  were  seldom  in  actual  danger  of  bodily 
injury,  Mr.  Whittier  used  to  tell  them  that  he 
thought  they  were  having  a  very  jolly  time  of  it 
for  a  band  of  martyrs.  It  was  indeed  a  goodly 
company  of  able  men,  and  if  they  failed  to  get  a 
hearing  in  the  halls  they  leased,  they  had  a  free 
press  —  often  mobbed,  but  always  maintained  — 
and  brilliant  writers,  whose  ability  commanded  the 
attention  of  the  whole  country.  Mr.  Whittier 
used  to  say,  when  his  anti-slavery  co-laborers  were 
complaining  of  the  social  and  political  ostracism 
they  were  suffering :  "  They  may  send  us  to  Cov- 
entry, but  we  will  set  about  making  Coventry  an 
agreeable  and  even  a  jolly  place." 

Mr.    Whittier's   correspondence    with    Charles 


308        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

Sumner  began  before  they  had  any  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  each  other.  They  had  casually 
met,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1829,  in  the  office  of  the 
American  "  Manufacturer."  But  it  was  Sumner's 
brilliant  Fourth  of  July  oration  upon  "  The  True 
Grandeur  of  Nations,"  in  1845,  that  called  the  at- 
tention of  the  poet  to  the  man  who  then  deliber- 
ately threw  aside  all  the  alluring  prospects  his  cul- 
ture and  legal  attainments  had  opened  to  him,  to 
enter  upon  the  career  of  a  reformer.  It  was  a 
time  when  war  was  imminent  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  and  such  a  plea  for  Peace  as 
this  was  unpopular.  When  Mayor  Quincy  was 
asked  what  he  thought  of  the  address  to  which  he 
had  just  listened,  he  replied,  "  Cut  his  throat ;  he 
will  never  be  heard  of  again."  This  was  the  feel- 
ing of  the  Boston  society  in  which  Sumner  had 
previously  been  lionized.  But  the  heart  of  Whit- 
tier  warmed  toward  him,  and  he  wrote  :  — 

"  I  thank  thee  from  my  heart  for  thy  noble  ad- 
dress. The  truths  are  none  the  less  welcome  for 
the  beautiful  drapery  in  which  they  are  clothed. 
It  will  do  great  good.  I  would  rather  be  the  au- 
thor of  it  than  of  all  the  war  eloquence  of  Hea- 
thendom and  Christendom  combined.  ...  It  will, 
I  doubt  not,  be  republished  in  Europe.  I  shall  be 
in  Boston,  at  the  Liberty  Convention,  on  the  1st 
of  next  month,  and  shall  take  some  pains  to  pro- 
cure an  introduction  to  the  author  of  the  very 
best  plea  for  peace  which  has  ever  fallen  under 
my  notice." 

Mr.  Whittier  wrote  from  Amesbury  to  his  sis- 
ter in  Boston,  under  date  of  26,  10th  mo.,  1845,  a 


LETTER   TO  ELIZABETH   WHITTIER     309 

letter  which  gives  some  idea  of  his  anti-slavery 
labors  in  those  days.  Elizabeth  was  visiting  her 
friend  Harriet  Minot  Pitman  :  — 

"  Mother  is  at  Haverhill.  On  Sixth  day  I  car- 
ried her  up,  and  then  proceeded  upon  my  mission 
among  the  abolitionists.  Got  to  Haverhill,  called 
on  several  of  the  '  Liberty  men,'  and  finally  held 
a  meeting  —  a  sort  of  impromptu  affair  —  at 
which  eloquent  speeches  were  made  by  several 
gentlemen,  Mr.  Algernon  Sydney  Nichols  among 
the  rest.  When  it  came  to  my  turn  I  began  with 
as  much  vehemence  as  Mr.  Pickwick,  but  broke 
down  about  midway,  and  gradually  subsided  into  a 
sort  of  melancholy  monotone,  which  under  other  cir- 
cumstances would  have  been  very  affecting.  As  it 
was,  I  am  not  very  sanguine  of  its  effect  upon  my 
audience,  but,  like  Paul's  unknown  tongues,  it  at 
least  edified  myself.  .  .  .  From  Haverhill  I  went 
to  Bradford,  called  on  Father  P.,  heard  his  tes- 
timony against  the  come-outers ;  called  on  the 
come-outers  and  heard  theirs  against  Father  P.,  — 
listening  with  patient  but  non-committal  civility  to 
both,  —  urging  all  parties  to  forego  their  conten- 
tions and  emulate  each  other  in  the  good  cause  of 
Liberty.  I  then  drove  down  to  Griffin's;  took 
dinner,  and  then  he  and  I  started  for  Newbury  and 
Newburyport,  where  I  trust  we  did  good  service. 
I  had  a  letter  a  day  or  two  ago  from  Hale.  He  is 
to  have  a  great  meeting  at  Dover  on  the  28th  inst. 
Do  write  me  a  line  and  let  me  know  how  Harriet 
behaves  as  a  housekeeper  and  wife,  and  whether 
thee  do  not  think  her  husband  deserves  a  good  deal 
of  sympathy !  Gerrit  Smith  is  to  be  in  Boston 


310        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

next  week,  and  will  speak,  I  believe,  in  Faneuil 
Hall.  I  wish  thee  could  see  him,  but  of  course 
thee  would  not  go  to  such  a  place.  It  is  hard 
enough  for  a  well  person." 

TO  GERRIT  SMITH. 

llth  mo.,  1845. 

There  is  nothing  to  alarm  us  in  the  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  of  the  two  old  parties.  These  parties 
are  indeed  evil  and  only  evil,  in  consequence  of 
their  alliance  with  Slavery ;  but  they  are  made  up 
of  men,  —  men  with  warm  hearts  in  their  bosoms, 
men  who  have  consciences  and  moral  perceptions, 
men  who  have  with  us  a  common  interest  in  the 
welfare  and  honor  of  the  country,  men,  in  short, 
who  now  are  just  what  we  ourselves  were  a  few 
years  ago,  and  who  can  be  influenced  by  the  same 
truths  which  have  had  their  effect  on  our  own 
minds.  The  good  and  true  and  humane  among 
them  will  soon  be  with  us ;  they  are  coming,  with 
the  zeal  of  fresh  converts,  with  the  warm  love  of 
repentant  men.  I  confess  at  times  when  I  think 
of  the  atrocities  of  Slavery,  and  of  our  dear  friend 
Torrey  wearing  out  his  life  in  the  slaveholder's 
dungeon,  I  am  almost  ready  to  call  for  fire  from 
Heaven.  But  better  is  it  for  us  that  these  things, 
instead  of  calling  forth  idle  railing  on  our  part, 
stimulate  us  to  a  more  faithful  discharge  of  our 
duty.  We  are  told  in  Scripture  that  when 
Michael,  the  Archangel,  contended  with  Satan 
about  the  body  of  Moses,  he  brought  against  his 
adversary  no  railing  accusation.  Let  us  say  to 
those  who,  like  that  prince  of  slaveholders,  are 


SATIRICAL    VERSES  311 

striving  with  God  and  nature  for  the  possession  of 
the  bodies  of  two  and  a  half  millions  of  our  coun- 
trymen, "  The  Lord  rebuke  you  I  " 

To  the  political  campaigns  of  the  early  days  of 
the  Free  Soil  party,  Whittier's  satirical  pen  lent  a 
spice  that  was  highly  relished  by  all  except  the 
victims  of  his  good-natured  raillery.  Some  of  the 
poetical  sallies  of  those  times  were  published  anon- 
ymously, but  the  public  soon  learned  that  there 
was  only  one  man  in  New  England  capable  of  pro- 
ducing them.  While  John  P.  Hale,  at  the  head 
of  the  Independent  Democrats  of  New  Hampshire, 
aided  by  the  Liberty  party,  was  making  the  can- 
vass that  finally  placed  him  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  Mr.  Whittier  took  a  lively  interest  in  the 
contest,  and  paid  off  in  stinging  verse  the  insults 
that  had  been  heaped  upon  him  and  George  Thomp- 
son in  their  visit  to  the  state  capital  eleven  years 
before.  At  the  time  when  "A  Letter  "  appeared 
in  the  "  Boston  Chronotype,"  in  1846,  the  public  was 
so  familiar  with  the  names  and  doings  of  the  poli- 
ticians satirized  that  explanatory  notes  were  not 
needed.  Whittier  did  not  openly  acknowledge  the 
"  Letter  "  as  his  own  until  the  publication  of  his 
complete  works  in  1888,  more  than  forty  years 
after  it  was  written,  and  such  notes  were  added  as 
were  needed  to  explain  the  satire  to  the  present 
generation. 

TO  JOHN  P.  HALE. 

16th  9th  mo.,  1846. 

I  see  by  the  papers  that  thy  lecture  in  Faneuil 
Hall  takes  place  on  the  18th.  There  is  one  point 


812        A    DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

which  I  wish  to  call  thy  attention  to.  We  want 
some  common  ground  for  all  who  love  Liberty 
and  abhor  Slavery  to  unite  upon.  May  it  not  be 
found  in  the  following  :  — 

1.  Abolition  of   slavery  the  leading   and  para- 
mount political  question. 

2.  No  voting  for  slaveholders. 

3.  No  voting  for  men  who  are  in  political  fellow- 
ship with  slaveholders. 

Why  can  we  not  have  a  great  League  of  Free- 
dom, with  the  above  for  its  watchwords  and  ral- 
lying cry?  We  have  eighty  thousand  Liberty 
voters  to  begin  with,  and  a  majority  of  both  the 
old  parties  are  well-nigh  ready  to  join  in  such  a 
movement.  Think  of  it.  I  notice  that  the  Eng- 
lish Liberal  papers,  Birmingham  "  Pilot,"  London 
"  Non-Conformist,"  etc.,  have  an  eye  on  the  New 
Hampshire  movement,  and  think  of  it  as  a  most 
encouraging  fact  in  favor  of  the  Eights  of  Man. 
In  the  late  meeting  of  the  British  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  Joseph  Sturge,  the  President  of  the  Free 
Suffrage  Union,  alluded  to  thy  course  with  great 
satisfaction.  The  Editor  of  the  "  Democratic 
Record  "  has  spoken  of  Sturge  as  the  noblest  and 
purest  of  the  democracy  of  England. 

The  tribute  to  the  memory  of  N.  P.  Rogers, 
written  by  Mr.  Whittier  in  1847,  which  appears 
in  his  prose  works,  shows  the  warmth  of  his  attach- 
ment to  that  most  brilliant  of  the  early  anti-slavery 
editors.  One  of  the  first  letters  of  appreciation 
and  encouragement  Whittier  received  after  pub- 
lishing the  pamphlet  "Justice  and  Expediency/' 


N.  P.  ROGERS  313 

in  1833,  was  from  Rogers,  who  invited  him  to  his 
mountain  home  in  the  valley  of  the  Pemigewasset. 
Their  first  personal  acquaintance  was  two  years 
afterward,  when  Whittier,  accompanied  by  George 
Thompson  (whom  he  had  been  hiding  from  the 
mob  in  the  seclusion  of  his  East  Haverhill  home), 
drove  to  Plymouth,  N.  H.,  and  had  a  most  cordial 
and  hospitable  reception.  Thompson  considered 
Rogers  the  most  brilliant  man  he  had  met  in 
America.  The  friendship  thus  begun  was  for  a 
few  years  (from  1840  to  1846)  clouded  by  the 
contest  to  which  reference  has  elsewhere  been 
made,  growing  out  of  the  fact  that  Whittier  could 
not  follow  the  policy  of  Garrison  and  Rogers,  in 
actively  supporting  several  reforms  not  neces- 
sarily connected  with  the  anti-slavery  movement, 
and  they  could  not  follow  him  into  the  field  of 
politics.  But  in  the  early  summer  of  1846,  Mr. 
Whittier  learned  that  Rogers  was  ill,  had  met  with 
losses  of  property  and  friends,  and  he  wrote  him 
a  letter  full  of  hearty  sympathy.  To  this  letter 
he  received  a  prompt  reply,  dated  Concord,  June  8, 
1846,  and  a  short  extract  from  it  may  be  found 
in  Whittier's  tribute  to  his  memory  referred  to 
above. 

It  will  be  seen  that  up  to  1847  Mr.  Whittier's 
labors  upon  nearly  all  the  newspapers  he  had  edited 
had  been  interfered  with  and  suspended  on  ac- 
count of  the  delicacy  of  his  health.  From  none 
of  them  had  he  received  a  salary  exceeding  five 
hundred  dollars  a  year ;  and  yet  he  had  managed, 
with  the  help  of  small  sums  paid  for  his  services 
as  secretary  of  anti-slavery  societies,  to  support 


314        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

himself  and  the  family  dependent  upon  him,  with- 
out incurring  debt.  Neither  his  books  nor  his 
poems  had  been  a  source  of  income  to  him,  al- 
though his  name  had  become  well  known  through- 
out the  country  as  a  poet,  as  well  as  a  reformer 
operating  in  the  field  of  politics.  His  eye  had 
been  single  to  the  cause  he  had  espoused,  and  all 
his  powers  had  been  concentrated  upon  it.  The 
North  was  ringing  with  his  passionate  outbursts 
against  slavery,  and  the  Liberty  party  he  had 
helped  to  organize  had  begun  to  trouble  the  old 
parties,  as  it  was  at  times  holding  the  balance  of 
power  between  them.  It  had  been  decided  by  the 
American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  which 
had  not  been  successful  with  the  newspaper  organs 
it  had  established  in  New  York,  to  start  a  weekly 
paper  in  Washington,  that  should  commend  itself  to 
the  public  by  its  literary  as  well  as  its  political  char- 
acter. A  fund  was  raised  that  would  insure  its  pub- 
lication one  year,  and  the  management  of  it  was  con- 
fided to  Dr.  Gamaliel  Bailey,  who  had  been  for 
eleven  years  editing  the  Cincinnati  "  Philanthro- 
pist," the  first  anti-slavery  paper  published  in  the 
West,  founded  by  James  G.  Birney,  in  1836. 
This  paper,  says  Grace  Greenwood,  was  issued 
with  regularity,  during  mob  intervals.  Three 
times  its  office  was  sacked,  press  and  types  thrown 
into  the  Ohio,  and  all  concerned  in  its  publication 
threatened  with  outrage  and  death.  In  1841  the 
city  was  disgraced  by  wild  pro-slavery  riots,  the 
fury  of  the  mob,  when  presses  gave  out,  being 
vented  on  colored  people.  The  fourth  press  stood, 
for  Salmon  P.  Chase  and  Tom  Corwin,  then  gov- 


DR.   GAMALIEL  BAILEY  315 

ernor  of  the  State,  stood  beside  it  and  protected 
it.  Dr.  Bailey  began  the  publication  of  the  "  Era  " 
in  January,  1847,  and  the  next  year  he  confronted 
a  terrible  mob  in  Washington  with  the  same  spirit 
he  had  displayed  in  Cincinnati.  For  three  days 
his  office  was  besieged,  but  the  city  had  an  efficient 
mayor,  and  he  was  protected.  Leading  citizens, 
however,  urged  the  doctor  to  restore  peace  to  the 
city  and  secure  his  own  safety  by  pledging  him- 
self to  discontinue  the  "  Era,"  and  surrender  his 
press  to  the  mob.  He  refused  to  surrender  any 
right  he  possessed  as  an  American  citizen.  On 
the  night  of  the  third  day,  his  house  was  besieged. 
He  sent  his  children  and  servants  to  a  place  of 
safety,  and  with  his  wife  confronted  the  angry 
populace.  When  called  upon  to  surrender,  he 
came  out  upon  the  front  steps  and  stood  there, 
a  fair  mark  for  pistol  shots.  He  said,  "  I  am  Dr. 
Bailey.  What  is  your  wish  ?  "  The  surrender 
of  his  property  was  demanded,  the  alternative  be- 
ing a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers,  the  materials  for 
which  were  paraded  before  him.  He  asked  to  be 
heard  in  his  own  defense,  and  made  a  speech  that 
completely  changed  the  feeling  of  the  mob.  He 
was  not  afterwards  threatened  with  violence. 

A  position  was  now  offered  Mr.  Whittier  which 
would  permit  him  to  do  all  his  literary  work  at 
his  home  in  Amesbury,  under  conditions  more  fa- 
vorable for  his  health  than  was  possible  away  from 
the  ministrations  of  his  devoted  mother  and  sister. 
With  his  editorial  labors,  home  cares,  and  other 
demands,  he  was  very  closely  occupied,  and  it  is 
pleasant  to  find  him  in  the  autumn  of  1847  taking 


316        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

a  little  rest  with  his  Cartland  cousins,  at  Lee,  N. 
H.,  whence  Elizabeth  writes  to  her  cousin  Gertrude 
Whittier:  "Just  a  week  ago  Greenleaf  and  I 
came  over  here.  It  is  quiet  and  lovely  all  about. 
There  was  never  a  season  of  such  glorious  fall 
fruitage,  and  from  my  windows  the  view  is  beauti- 
ful —  the  greenness  of  June  crowning  these  Septem- 
ber woods  and  fields.  I  wish  thee  could  join  us  this 
morning,  there  are  so  few  of  us,  and  I  have  strong 
family  ties.  I  should  never  object  to  the  plan  of 
clanship,  only  I  would  like  to  exclude  a  few. 
Greenleaf  has  a  prospect  of  being  at  the  Buffalo 
convention,  and,  as  it  now  seems,  thy  own  great- 
hearted townsman,  John  P.  Hale,  will  be  our  can- 
didate for  the  Presidency." 

In  September,  1846,  at  a  Whig  convention 
in  Faneuil  Hall,  Stephen  C.  Phillips  offered  an 
anti-slavery  resolve  which  was  rejected,  and  this 
resolve  was  defended  in  a  speech  by  Charles  Sum- 
ner.  Whittier  wrote  his  poem  "  The  Pine  Tree  " 
immediately  upon  reading  the  proceedings  of  this 
convention.  It  contains  the  lines  :  — 

*'  Where  's  the  man  for  Massachusetts  !  where  's  the  voice  to  speak 

her  free  ? 
Where 's  the  hand  to  light  up  bonfires  from  the  mountain  to  the 

sea? 

Beats  her  Pilgrim  pulse  no  longer  ?  Sits  she  dumb  in  her  despair  ? 
Has  she  none  to  break  the  silence  ?  Has  she  none  to  do  and  dare  ? 
O  my  God  !  for  one  right  worthy  to  lift  up  her  rusted  shield, 
And  to  plant  again  the  Pine  Tree  in  her  banner's  tattered  field  !  " 

This  poem  he  inclosed  in  a  note  to  Charles 
Sumner,  which  reads  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  just  read  the  proceedings  of  your  Whig 
convention,  and  the  lines  inclosed  are  a  feeble  ex- 


"THE  PINE   TREE"  317 

pression  of  iny  feelings.  I  look  upon  the  rejection 
of  S.  C.  P.'s  resolutions  as  an  evidence  that  the 
end  and  aim  of  the  managers  of  the  convention 
was  to  go  just  far  enough  to  scare  the  party,  and 
no  further.  All  thanks  for  the  free  voices  of  thy- 
self, Phillips,  Allen,  and  Adams.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  result,  you  have  not  spoken  in  vain.  If 
thee  thinks  well  enough  of  these  verses  hand  them 
to  the  4  Whig '  or  '  Chronotype.'  " 

To  this  letter  Sumner  replied :  — 

"  We  do  not  despair.  We  are  all  alive  to  wage 
the  fight  another  day,  and  feel  that  more  was  done 
than  we  had  hoped  to  do.  Our  vote  was  strong  ; 
but  it  was  at  an  hour  when  many  had  gone  home 
by  the  early  trains,  whose  presence  would  have 
made  it  stronger.  Many  who  were  present  did 
not  vote,  and  they  were  undoubtedly  with  us. 
The  ball  has  been  put  in  motion;  it  cannot  be 
stopped.  Hard  words  are  said  of  us  in  State 
Street.  I  am  grateful  to  you  for  your  note  of  en- 
couragement. The  poem  is  beautiful,  and  must  be 
printed." 

The  following  letters,  written  as  he  was  entering 
upon  his  connection  with  the  paper,  indicate  also 
his  activity  in  political  affairs. 

TO  JOHN  P.  HALE. 

12th  mo.,  18,  1846. 

We  are  about  starting  our  "  National  Era  "  at 
Washington,  and  should  be  glad  of  a  note  of  en- 
couragement from  thee.  Is  it  asking  too  much  to 
request  thee  to  drop  me  a  line,  as  one  of  the  edi- 
tors, to  this  effect  ?  We  shall  have  similar  letters 


318        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

from  others  for  our  first  number.  We  mean  to 
make  the  paper  worthy  of  the  best  of  causes, — 
the  cause  of  humanity,  the  Democracy  of  the  New 
Testament.  So  the  pro-slavery  Democrats  have 
troubles  yet  in  their  Israel.  Who  is  Esquire 
Marston  ?  Is  he  a  man  to  stick  to  his  point  and 
show  fight?  .  .  .  Webster  and  his  two  hopeful 
sons,  I  see,  are  going  for  the  war.  Your  New 
Hampshire  Whigs  were  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to 
nominate  him. 

TO  ANN  E.  WENDELL. 

2d  mo.,  21,  1847. 

What  a  sad  state  of  things  in  Ireland!  We 
have  been  trying  to  do  something  in  this  region. 
Our  little  meeting  here  has  raised  about  fifty  dol- 
lars. The  people  of  other  denominations  are  also 
moving.  The  cheerfulness  with  which  almost 
everybody  contributes  to  this  object  looks  well  for 
human  nature.  Oh,  surely  there  is  good  in  all; 
the  hardest  heart  is  not  wholly  stone.  The  heart 
that  can  sympathize  with  human  suffering  and 
yearn  to  relieve  it  cannot  be  wholly  depraved. 
The  longer  I  live,  I  see  the  evil  in  myself  in  a 
clearer  light,  and  more  that  is  good  in  others ; 
and  if  I  do  not  grow  better,  I  am  constrained  to 
be  more  charitable.  I  shudder  sometimes  at  my 
fierce  rebukes  of  erring-doers,  when  I  consider 
my  own  weakness  and  sins  of  omission  as  well 
as  commission.  .  .  .  Our  paper  at  Washington 
[the  "National  Era"]  will  doubtless  succeed.  I 
should  have  gone  on  this  winter  but  for  the  state 
of  my  health,  and  the  difficulty  of  leaving  home 
on  my  mother's  account.  I  write  but  little  for  it, 


LETTERS   TO  JOHN  P.  HALE  319 

and  have  not  been  able  to  revise  or  correct  that 
little.  But,  if  in  the  Providence  of  God  I  am  not 
to  do  much  more  for  the  cause  of  freedom,  I  am 
deeply  grateful  for  the  privilege  I  have  enjoyed  of 
giving  the  strength  of  my  youth  and  manhood  to  ito 
The  cause  is  destined  to  triumph ;  and  present  ap- 
pearances indicate  that  the  triumph  is  near.  .  .  . 
The  action  of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  in  rela- 
tion to  fugitive  slaves  is  most  gratifying.  The 
exertions  of  the  Committee  of  the  Meeting  for 
Sufferings  undoubtedly  contributed  much  to  this 
result.  Oh,  that  our  Friends  generally  would  feel 
their  great  responsibility  in  this  matter.  They 
have  influence  sufficient  to  change  the  whole  legis- 
lation of  the  country,  if  it  was  only  fully  exercised. 
...  I  have  of  late  been  able  to  write  but  little, 
and  that  mostly  for  the  papers,  and  I  have  scarcely 
answered  a  letter  for  a  month  past.  I  dread  to 
touch  a  pen.  Whenever  I  do  it  increases  the  dull 
wearing  pain  in  my  head,  which  I  am  scarcely 
ever  free  from.  ...  I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  of 
thy  mother's  illness.  Mother  !  how  much  there  is 
in  that  word  !  If  there  is  one  earthly  blessing  for 
which  more  than  another  I  feel  thankful,  it  is  that 
she  is  still  spared  to  me  to  whom  I  can  apply  that 
endearing  name. 

TO  JOHN  P.  HALE. 

30th  7th  mo.,  1847. 

Inclosed  is  a  letter  prepared  and  signed  by  a 
committee  chosen  at  our  conference  the  other  day 
at  East  Boston.  Farther  reflection  has  convinced 
me  that  so  far  from  throwing  obstacles  in  thy  way 
in  the  Senate  the  nomination  would  give  a  much 


320        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

stronger  position,  and  besides  it  would  have  the 
effect  to  set  at  rest  the  stories  of  the  Radicals  and 
the  fears  of  some  of  the  Independent  Democrats  in 
other  States,  that  thou  art  playing  into  the  hands 
of  the  Whigs  ;  and  thus  thou  wouldst  be  able  to 
act  more  effectively  upon  the  people,  irrespective 
of  party.  As  for  the  Whigs,  depend  upon  it  they 
will  have  no  cause  of  dissatisfaction,  if  they  see 
that  thy  new  position  enables  thee  more  effectively 
to  act  upon  the  pro-slavery  Democracy.  Show 
them  this,  and  they  will  not  complain.  I  am 
naturally  anxious  that  thy  answer  should  be  such 
a  one  as  shall  render  the  vote  for  thee  in  our  con- 
vention entirely  unanimous.  It  will  not  be  pub- 
lished, but  will  be  used  at  the  convention,  and  sent 
in  manuscript  to  a  few  of  our  leading  friends  in 
other  States. 

Pardon  me  for  a  suggestion  or  two.  It  is  im- 
portant that  it  should  be  understood  that  thou  art 
disconnected  entirely  from  the  two  old  parties  ;  at 
the  same  time  it  would  be  right  and  proper  for 
thee  to  avow  thy  Democratic  faith  in  the  doctrines 
of  Jefferson,  Leggett,  and  Sedgwick  —  the  true 
and  righteous  democracy  of  Christianity.  In  re- 
gard to  thy  anti-slavery  views :  Perhaps  if  thou 
wast  to  copy  the  principal  resolutions  of  the  New- 
market convention,  held  a  year  ago,  as  expressive 
of  thy  sentiments,  it  would  be  well.  Thee  might 
close  by  avowing  these  as  thy  principles,  and 
that  if  they  coincide  with  those  of  the  gentlemen 
addressing  thee,  and  their  friends  generally,  they 
are  at  liberty  to  use  thy  name  at  the  convention. 
I  take  it  for  granted  that  thy  answer  will  be  favor- 


LETTERS   TO  JOHN  P.  HALE  321 

able.  The  whole  West  will  be  shaken  by  thy 
nomination.  Dr.  Bailey  is  sure  of  great  accessions 
from  the  Democratic  and  Whig  ranks.  We  will 
try  for  twenty  thousand  votes  in  Massachusetts 
alone,  and  unless  all  indications  are  fallacious  shall 
get  them.  If  agreeable  to  thee,  I  will  ride  over  to 
Dover  with  friend  Tuck,  at  such  time  as  may 
suit  thy  convenience  —  only  let  it  be  soon  as  possi- 
ble—  and  we  can  see  thy  answer,  and  perhaps 
make  some  suggestions  previous  to  its  being  sent. 
Or,  I  will  meet  thee  at  the  Cartlands'  at  Lee ;  or, 
still  better,  wilt  thou  not  ride  over  to  Amesbury  ? 
.  .  .  The  Whigs  of  New  Hampshire,  if  they  are 
looking  for  anything  better  than  a  slaveholder  for 
candidate,  will  be  disappointed.  Taylor  will  be 
urged  by  the  hurrah  boys  of  both  parties,  at  the 
North  and  by  the  entire  South.  I  have  more  hope 
of  the  Democrats  than  of  the  Whigs  in  the  coming 
election.  They  are  bolder,  freer,  and  less  influ- 
enced by  conservatism.  Still  the  young  Whigs  of 
Massachusetts  and  Ohio  will  unquestionably  vote 
the  Liberty  ticket,  with  thee  as  the  candidate. 

TO   THE   SAME. 

2d  10th  mo.,  1847. 

Ere  this  I  suppose  the  result  of  the  convention 
at  Buffalo  has  reached  thee.  If  not  already,  thou 
wilt  soon  be  officially  informed  of  it,  when  it  will 
be  expected  of  thee  that  thy  position  will  be  de- 
fined. In  thy  case,  the  boldest  course  is  the  safest. 
The  Whigs  are  training  Corwin  and  McLean  to 
go  as  far  as  possible  towards  Liberty  principles 
without  actually  reaching  them.  They  will  strive 


322        A   DECADE  OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

to  make  it  appear  that  they  are  more  ultra  than 
the  anti-slavery  candidate  himself.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  New  York  and  western  Democrats  are 
preparing  to  bring  out  either  Benton  or  C.  C. 
Cambreling,  or  John  A.  Dix,  as  the  opponent  of 
slavery  extension.  The  two  latter  are  prepared  to 
go  great  lengths  in  denunciation  of  slavery.  The 
Whigs  of  New  Hampshire  will  as  readily  go  for 
an  ultra-abolitionist,  as  a  half  one,  while  they 
would  be  glad  of  the  excuse  for  going  for  Cor  win 
or  Judge  McLean,  that  they  were  ready  to  go  far- 
ther than  thyself  in  opposition  to  slavery.  A  bold, 
thorough-going  letter  at  this  time  from  thy  pen 
would  awaken  too  deep  an  interest  and  enthusiasm 
among  all  classes  of  anti-slavery  men  to  be  set 
aside  by  the  stratagems  of  the  two  old  parties.  I 
trust  thee  will  not  permit  thyself  to  be  troubled 
with  "  constitutional "  difficulties.  The  Constitution 
has  been  a  mere  ruse  of  war  in  the  hands  of  Slav- 
ery for  half  a  century.  It  has  been  made  to  say  and 
be  just  what  the  South  wished.  We  must  take  it 
out  of  the  custody  of  slavery,  and  construe  it  in  the 
light  of  Liberty,  —  "  as  we  understand  it."  We 
must  bring  it  up  out  of  the  land  of  bondage,  just 
as  David  did  the  ark  from  the  Philistines  to  Obed- 
Edom.  At  all  events,  with  the  Constitution,  or 
without  the  Constitution,  Slavery  must  die.  If, 
however,  on  full  reflection,  thou  art  not  prepared 
to  take  the  difficult  and  trying  position  proffered 
thee,  I  would  not  ask  thee  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion. If  it  seems  on  the  whole  better  and  wiser 
for  thee  to  enter  the  Senate  entirely  independent 
of  all  parties,  I  would  not  urge  thee  to  take  upon 


LETTERS   TO  JOHN  P.  HALE  323 

thyself  the  responsibility  we  offer  thee.  I  am 
sorry  the  nomination  was  made  this  fall.  At  our 
Essex  County  meeting,  held  the  week  before,  I 
procured  the  passage  of  a  resolution  suggesting 
that  deference  should  be  had  to  the  opinion  of  our 
friends  in  New  Hampshire  and  Ohio  in  respect  to 
deferring  the  nomination,  and  wrote  the  conven- 
tion to  that  effect,  being  unable  to  attend.  I  have 
volunteered  this  hasty  letter  from  motives  which 
I  trust  thou  wilt  appreciate.  Were  I  not  confined 
by  ill  health  to  my  house,  I  should  try  to  see  thee. 
As  it  is,  I  could  do  no  less  than  drop  thee  a  line 
expressive  of  my  feelings.  Thy  letter  will  be 
looked  for  with  great  interest.  If  it  is,  as  I  trust 
it  will  be,  bold,  pointed,  and  explicit,  —  if  it  not 
only  sustains  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  but,  looking  be- 
yond that  temporary  measure,  aims  at  the  life  of 
slavery  itself,  and  points  out  the  duty  of  the  Free 
States  in  this  crisis,  to  make  the  anti-slavery  ques- 
tion first  and  paramount,  —  it  will  rally  a  mighty 
host  of  true  hearts  around  thee  as  Liberty's  stand- 
ard-bearer. If  it  fall  short  of  this,  it  will  be 
greatly  to  be  regretted,  and  by  no  one  more  sin- 
cerely, both  as  respects  thyself  and  the  cause,  than 
by  thy  sincere  friend. 

TO   THE   SAME. 

llth  8th  mo.,  1847. 

I  wrote  thee  a  hasty  line  the  other  day  with 
reference  to  the  Buffalo  nomination.  I  sincerely 
hope  thou  wilt  not  feel  thyself  called  upon  to  de- 
cline that  nomination.  Since  I  wrote  thee  I  have 
had  letters  from  New  York  and  elsewhere,  all 


324        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

highly  animated,  and  encouraging  as  to  the  pros- 
pect of  a  large  vote  in  1848.  Everywhere  the 
nomination  is  received  with  enthusiasm  by  the 
Liberty  men ;  and  many  influential  Whigs  and 
Democrats  are  regarding  it  with  favor.  The 
"  Era"  of  last  week  contains  an  article  originating 
in  a  Democratic  paper  in  New  York,  and  which 
has  been  copied  into  several  other  prints  of  the 
same  stamp,  suggesting  that  it  would  be  well  for  the 
Democracy  of  the  North  to  rally  under  thy  nomi- 
nation. Everything,  in  short,  looks  favorable,  be- 
yond our  hopes.  Our  election  took  place  to-day. 
When  I  left  the  polls  the  governor  vote  was  not 
declared.  That  for  representative  in  Amesbury 
stood,  Liberty  103,  Whig  99,  Democratic  87. 
The  Gushing  vote  will  be  small. 

Mr.  Whittier  began  his  work  as  corresponding 
editor  of  the  "  National  Era  "  with  the  first 
number  issued,  and  continued  in  this  position  until 
1860,  a  few  months  after  the  death  of  his  associate 
and  friend,  Dr.  Bailey.  During  the  first  years  of 
his  connection  with  the  "Era  "his  contributions 
were  to  be  found  in  nearly  every  number,  and  re- 
lated to  a  great  variety  of  subjects.  They  included 
poems  that  are  still  regarded  as  his  best ;  reviews 
of  work  of  his  brother  authors ;  comments  upon 
public  affairs,  sometimes  quite  elaborate ;  letters 
from  Amesbury  and  Boston  about  the  progress  of 
the  cause  in  New  England  ;  and  quaint  and  curi- 
ous results  of  antiquarian  research.  He  did  not 
occupy  any  particular  department,  but  his  articles 
were  scattered  about  the  paper,  in  editorial  or  other 


CONTRIBUTIONS   TO   THE   "ERA"     325 

columns,  as  it  might  happen,  usually  signed  with 
his  initials.  The  first  number  contained  his  noble 
tribute  to  "  Randolph  of  Roanoke,"  a  sketch  of 
the  life  of  Thomas  Ellwood,  and  a  letter  from 
Amesbury,  dealing  with  New  Hampshire  politics 
and  rejoicing  in  the  gallant  and  successful  fight  of 
John  P.  Hale.  He  likened  Hale  to  the  brave- 
hearted  Indian,  Hiarcormes,  who  trampled  on  the 
sacred  medicine  bag,  and  thus  broke  the  spell  of 
the  medicine  man  who  was  frightening  the  con- 
verts of  Eliot  back  to  idolatry.  "  Hale's  experi- 
ment was  in  its  way  equal  to  that  of  old  Hiar- 
cormes. Slavery  has  come  to  be  regarded  a  very 
sacred  and  democratic  institution,  to  interfere  with 
which  was  to  incur  political  death.  Hale  has 
rudely  touched  it,  and  still  lives." 

There  is  occasionally  a  number  of  the  "  Era  " 
that  contains  eight  or  nine  columns  of  Mr.  Whit- 
tier's  writing.  One  after  another  he  introduces 
to  the  public,  with  eulogistic  comment,  young 
writers  who  have  since  become  popular  favorites. 
Now  it  is  a  good  word  for  Lucy  Larcom,  then  for 
Alice  and  Phoebe  Gary,  Grace  Greenwood,  and 
others.  These  became  regular  contributors  to  the 
"Era."  His  life-long  friendship  for  Bayard 
Taylor  had  its  origin  in  his  copying  "  The  Norse- 
man's Ride  "  from  the  "  Democratic  Review  "  (in 
which  it  had  appeared  anonymously),  prefacing 
it  with  hearty  commendation.  He  did  not  then 
know  the  name  of  the  writer  he  was  praising,  nor 
could  he  have  guessed  that  his  notice  would  be  the 
beginning  of  a  long  and  happy  friendship. 

We  find  among  the  papers  Mr.  Whittier  pre- 


326        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

served  with  care  the  first  letter  he  received  from 
his  young  friend,  whose  work  he  had  praised, 
written  from  Phoenixville,  Pa.,  September  16, 
1847 :  — 

I  know  you  will  understand  the  feeling  which 
prompts  me,  though  a  stranger,  to  address  you,  and. 
pardon  any  liberties  I  may  have  taken  in  so  doing. 
I  was  surprised  and  delighted  a  few  weeks  ago  to 
see  in  the  "  National  Era,"  in  connection  with  a 
notice  of  the  old  Northern  mythology,  a  poem  of 
mine,  "The  Norseman's  Ride,"  which  was  pub- 
lished last  winter  in  the  "  Democratic  Review." 
I  am  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  stirring  Scan- 
dinavian Sagas,  some  of  which  Tegner  has  immor- 
talized in  his  Frithiof ;  and  it  was  under  the  full 
influence  of  the  spirit  inspired  by  them  that  the 
poem  was  written.  I  was  possessed  by  the  sub- 
ject and  fancied  I  had  given  it  fitting  expression, 
but  the  friends  to  whom  I  showed  it  did  not 
admire  it,  and  I  reluctantly  concluded  that  my 
heated  fancies  had  led  my  judgment  astray,  and 
made  up  my  mind  to  forget  it.  Judge,  then,  how 
grateful  and  encouraging  was  your  generous  com- 
mendation. I  thank  you  sincerely  and  from  my 
heart  for  the  confidence  your  words  have  given  me. 
One  day,  I  hope,  I  shall  be  able  to  take  your  hand, 
and  tell  you  what  happiness  it  is  to  be  understood 
by  one  whom  the  world  calls  by  the  sacred  name 
of  poet.  With  every  wish  for  your  happiness  and 
prosperity,  I  am,  with  sincere  respect  and  esteem, 

Your  friend,  J.  BAYARD  TAYLOR. 


WEBSTER  AND  "ICHABOD"  327 

In  examining  files  of  the  "  Era  "  we  come  fre- 
quently upon  poems  that  were  adding  steadily  and 
cumulatively  to  the  reputation  of  their  author,  like 
"Barclay  of  Ury,"  "Angels  of  Buena  Vista," 
"Maud  Muller,"  "Angel  of  Patience,"  "The 
Crisis,"  "The  Hill-Top,"  "A  Sabbath  Scene," 
"Burns,"  "Mary  Garvin,"  "  Tauler,"  "The  Her- 
mit's Chapel "  (afterwards  called  "  Chapel  of  the 
Hermits"),  and  "The  Prisoners  of  Naples."  A 
few  weeks  after  Webster's  7th  of  March 
speech,  the  terrible  poem  "  Ichabod  "  is  seen  at 
the  head  of  a  conspicuous  column.  That  number 
of  the  "  Era  "  (May  2,  1850)  must  have  caused 
a  sensation  in  Washington.  Daniel  Webster  re- 
sponded to  it  indirectly  by  a  letter  to  certain  citi- 
zens of  Newburyport,  in  reply  to  an  address  by 
Horace  Mann.  In  this  letter  he  said  that  the 
views  expressed  in  his  7th  of  March  speech  were 
approved  by  the  great  body  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  Whittier's  reply  to  the  claim  is  in  the 
"  Era  "  of  June  20,  and  in  it  he  makes  peremp- 
tory denial  of  the  statement,  and  brings  forward 
conclusive  proof  that  the  Quakers  as  a  body  disap- 
prove of  Webster's  position.  In  this  article  he 
speaks  for  the  Friends  in  New  England,  and  in 
the  next  paper  he  says :  — 

"  It  has  been  suggested,  that  whatever  might  be 
our  opinion,  or  that  of  the  Friends  of  New  Eng- 
land, we  had  no  right  to  speak  for  those  of  Penn- 
sylvania, to  whom  the  author  of  the  letter  may  be 
supposed  to  refer  more  immediately.  Wre  have, 
however,  abundant  proofs  of  the  correctness  of  our 
statement,  as  applied  to  Pennsylvania  Friends. 


328        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

It  is  notorious  that  for  tlie  last  half  century  the 
latter  have  been  the  friends  and  advisers  of  the 
colored  people ;  and  whenever  a  slave  case  was 
before  the  courts  of  law  they  have  been  found 
standing  between  the  oppressors  and  the  op- 
pressed; and  when  the  decision  was  against  the 
latter,  they  have  submitted  only  with  the  deepest 
sympathy  for  the  slave,  and  abhorrence  of  the  law 
which  consigned  him  to  hopeless  bondage." 

He  quotes  Webster's  assertion  that  fugitives  are 
arrested  and  carried  away  into  slavery  from  Penn- 
sylvania without  complaint  or  excitement,  and 
shows  by  extracts  from  Quaker  periodicals  and 
minutes  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  that  the  Friends  in 
that  State  were  profoundly  stirred  by  the  attempt 
to  repeal  the  state  law  granting  jury  trial  to  fugi- 
tive slaves.  His  two  years'  residence  in  Pennsyl- 
vania had  qualified  him  to  speak  for  that  State  as 
well  as  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Whittier's  second  visit  to  Washington  was 
in  December,  1845,  when,  in  company  with  Henry 
Wilson,  he  was  delegated  by  a  Liberty  party  con- 
vention to  carry  to  Congress  a  petition  containing 
60,000  names  against  the  annexation  of  Texas. 
It  was  after  a  visit  to  a  slave  prison  in  that  city 
that  he  wrote  the  poem  "  At  Washington." 

He  again  visited  Washington  in  February, 
1848,  and  a  few  days  before  the  death  of  John 
Quincy  Adams  had  an  interview  with  that  states- 
man, of  which  he  gave  some  account  in  the  "  Era  " 
of  April  13.  Adams  said  he  longed  to  see  our 
government  take  a  step  which  would  place  a  seal 
of  national  disapprobation  on  the  institution  of 


LETTER  TO  CHARLES  SUMNER   329 

slavery.  On  the  23d  of  February,  the  very  day  of 
the  death  of  Adams,  Whittier  wrote  to  Charles 
Sumner  from  Washington  as  follows  :  — 

"  Ere  this  thou  hast  doubtless  heard  of  the  sud- 
den illness  of  the  venerable  Adams.  At  a  late 
hour  last  night  he  was  still  living,  but  sinking  fast. 
I  have  not  heard  this  morning.  His  death  will  be 
the  fitting  end  of  such  a  glorious  life.  Falling  at 
his  post,  dying  with  his  harness  on,  in  the  capitol 
so  often  shaken  by  his  noble  battle  for  freedom  ! 
My  eyes  fill  with  tears,  but  the  emotion  is  not 
unmingled  with  a  feeling  of  joy  that  such  a  man 
should  thus  pass  from  us.  A  few  days  ago  I  had 
a  highly  interesting  conversation  with  him.  All 
his  old  vigor  seemed  to  reanimate  him  when  he 
touched  the  subject  of  slavery.  I  shall  never  for- 
get that  interview.  Even  if  now  living,  he  cannot 
survive  through  the  day.  .  .  .  An  election  will  of 
course  take  place  in  his  district.  There  is  a  feel- 
ing among  our  friends  here  that  his  place  should 
be  worthily  filled.  Who  so  proper,  then,  as  his 
son,  Charles  Francis  Adams  ?  He  is  virtually  a 
resident  of  the  district.  Think  of  it,  dear  S.,  — 
think  what  a  glorious  thing  it  would  be  to  see  the 
vacant  seat  of  the  elder  Adams  so  well  filled.  .  .  . 
Look  at  the  article  in  the  '  Era'  this  week  on 
Yucatan.  I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  acquaint 
myself  with  the  object  of  the  Yucatan  commis- 
sioner. Cannot  the  fact  of  the  rejection  of  his 
overtures  for  the  admission  of  a  free  State  be 
used  in  favor  of  liberty,  and  against  the  dough- 
faces of  the  North  ?" 

The  article  upon  Yucatan  to  which  reference  is 


330        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

made  affirms  that  the  administration  turned  a 
cold  shoulder  upon  Yucatan,  because  the  constitu- 
tion of  that  State  prohibits  slavery.  After  his 
return  to  Amesbury,  in  March,  1848,  Mr.  Whit- 
tier  wrote  in  commendation  of  a  letter  by  Horace 
Mann,  then  member  of  Congress  from  Massachu- 
setts, saying  he  does  not  know  Mann,  and  asking 
if  he  is  really  all  that  his  letter  indicates.  Sum- 
ner's  reply  must  have  been  satisfactory,  for  Whit- 
tier  writes  :  — 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  thy  report  of  Horace  Mann. 
I  trust  he  will  equal  thy  hopes.  .  .  .  What  a  glori- 
ous change  in  the  Old  World.  I  feel  almost  like 
going  to  France  myself,  and  would  if  I  could  do 
anything  more  than  gratify  my  own  feelings  by  so 
doing.  The  position  of  Lamartine,  Arago,  and 
their  colleagues,  is  a  sublime  one,  but  its  respon- 
sibility is  terrible.  My  friend  Joseph  Sturge,  of 
Birmingham,  who  has  just  returned  from  a  visit  to 
Paris,  places  great  confidence  in  them.  He  writes 
me  that  they  are  determined  to  put  an  end  to 
slavery  at  once.  He  found  them  busily  at  work, 
greatly  worn  and  prostrated  by  their  severe  and 
protracted  labors.  The  sympathy  of  all  friends  of 
liberty  should  be  with  them.  I  wish  our  legisla- 
ture, in  its  congratulations  of  France,  would  spe- 
cially allude  to  the  abolition  of  slavery.  I  have 
not  seen  whether  the  resolves  have  passed  or  not. 
6  Hale's  proviso '  ought  to  be  attached  to  them."  1 

1  When  the  United  States  Senate  was  considering  the  resolu- 
tions congratulating"  France  upon  securing  a  republican  form  of 
government,  in  April,  1848,  Senator  Hale  moved  to  insert  a  clause 
commending  the  French  government  for  ' '  manifesting  the  sincer- 
ity of  their  purpose  by  instituting  measures  for  the  immediate 


LETTER  TO  CHARLES  SUMNER    331 

Here  is  an  earnest  letter  of  advice  given  in  the 
political  crisis  of  1848,  when  the  Whig  party  was 
divided  over  the  nomination  of  Zachary  Taylor. 
The  "  Cotton "  Whigs  went  for  Taylor,  and  the 
"Conscience  "  Whigs  had  called  a  convention  to 
decide  upon  the  course  they  should  adopt.  Whit- 
tier  wrote  tojSumner  from  Amesbury,  June  20  :  — 

"  In  the  mean  time,  what  will  the  New  York 
Barnburners  do  ?  Is  there  no  hope  of  uniting 
with  them,  and  erecting  on  the  ruins  of  the  old 
parties  the  great  party  of  Christian  Democracy 
and  Progress  ?  Why  try  to  hold  on  to  these  old 
parties,  even  in  name  ?  ...  It  strikes  me  that  it 
would  be  best  not  to  make  a  nomination  at 
Worcester,  but  to  appoint  delegates  to  a  general 
convention  of  the  friends  of  Freedom  and  Free 
Soil,  without  distinction  of  party,  the  time  and 
place  of  which  not  to  be  fixed  before  consultation 
with  friends  of  the  movement  in  other  States. 
Don't  stultify  yourselves  by  boasting  of  your 
Whiggery.  That  died  when  Taylor  was  nomi- 
nated. Judge  Allen  is  right :  the  Whig  party  is 
dissolved.  Let  your  emancipated  friends  now 
rise  to  the  sublime  altitude  of  men  who  labor  for 
the  race,  for  humanity.  Send  out  from  your  con- 
vention, if  you  will,  a  long  and  careful  statement 
of  the  facts  in  the  case,  but  with  it  also  an  appeal 
to  the  people  which  shall  reach  and  waken  into 

emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  all  the  colonies  of  the  republic." 
The  American  Senate,  at  this  time,  was  hardly  in  the  mood  to 
consider  this  proposition  seriously.  Samuel  S.  Phelps,  of  Ver- 
mont, was  the  only  Senator  who  stood  by  Hale  in  voting-  for  it. 
This  was  the  "  proviso  "  to  which  Whittier  referred  in  his  letter 
to  Sumner,  as  one  that  the  state  legislature  ought  to  adopt. 


332        A   DECADE    OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

vigorous  life  all  that  remains  of  weakness  in  the 
North.  Kindle  up  the  latent  enthusiasm  of  the 
Yankee  character,  call  out  the  grim  fanaticism  of 
the  Puritan.  Dare !  dare  !  DARE  !  as  Danton  told 
the  French  ;  that  is  the  secret  of  successful  revolt. 
Oh,  for  a  man  !  There  is  the  difficulty,  after  all. 
Who  is  to  head  the  movement  ?  Hale  has  many 
of  the  martial  qualities  of  a  leader.  As  a  stump 
orator  he  is  second  only  to  John  Van  Buren,  who, 
by  the  bye,  I  would  far  rather  see  in  nomination 
for  the  Presidency  than  his  father,  or  Judge  Mc- 
Lean. It  would  be  folly  and  suicide  to  nominate  a 
shrinking  conservative,  whose  heart  is  not  with 
you,  and  whom  you  must  drag  up  to  your  level  by 
main  force.  .  .  .  You  must  have  a  new  and  bold 
man,  one  to  whom  old  notions  and  practices  on  the 
question  of  slavery  are  like  threads  of  tow.,  break-, 
ing  with  the  first  movement  of  his  limbs.  But 
this  advice,  however  well-meant  on  my  part,  is 
doubtless  not  needed.  You  have  strong  and  noble 
men,  —  Adams,  Howe,  Phillips,  Wilson,  Hoar, 
Allen,  and  others.  I  only  wish  you  had  the  power 
of  the  French  provisional  government ;  I  could 
answer  for  the  wisdom  of  your  decrees." 
In  his  reply  to  this  letter  Sumner  said :  — 
"  Things  tend  to  Van  Buren  as  our  candidate ; 
I  am  willing  to  take  him.  With  him  we  can  break 
the  slave  power :  that  is  our  first  aim.  We  can 
have  a  direct  issue  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  We 
hope  that  McLean  will  be  Yice-President.  Truly, 
success  seems  to  be  within  our  reach.  I  never 
supposed  that  I  should  belong  to  a  successful 
party." 


LETTER    TO  DR.  WM.  F.  CHANNING    333 

On  the  6th  of  December,  1848,  Sumner  wrote 
to  Whittier,  whose  poem  "The  Wish  of  To-Day  " 
had  just  appeared  in  the  "  Era  :  "  — 

"  Your  poem  in  the  last  '  Era  '  has  touched  my 
heart.  May  God  preserve  you  in  strength  and 
courage  for  all  good  works !  .  .  .  The  literature 
of  the  world  is  turning  against  slavery.  We  shall 
have  it  soon  in  a  state  of  moral  blockade.  I 
admire  Dr.  Bailey  as  an  editor  very  much.  His 
articles  show  infinite  sagacity  and  tact.  .  .  .  But  I 
took  my  pen  merely  to  inquire  after  your  health. 
There  are  few  to  whom  I  would  allot  a  larger 
measure  of  the  world's  blessings  than  to  yourself, 
had  I  any  control,  for  there  are  few  who  deserve 
them  more/' 

The  attitude  taken  by  Whittier  in  the  strait 
through  which  the  political  movement  against  slav- 
ery passed  in  the  formation  of  the  Free  Soil  party, 
at  the  time  of  the  Buffalo  convention  of  1848,  is 
shown  in  the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Win.  F. 
Channing,  who  was  an  alternate  delegate  from 
Boston  to  the  convention.  It  was  dated  July  1, 
1848.  Whittier's  suggestion  that  Channing  should 
write  to  Van  Buren  was  adopted,  but  the  wily  ex- 
President  made  no  reply  :  — 

"  Providence  permitting,  I  will  be  with  you  on 
the  19th.  In  the  mean  time  I  can  only  add  that  I 
cannot  vote  for  Van  Buren  in  his  present  attitude, 
yet  I  greatly  fear  that  the  Buffalo  convention  will 
affirm  his  nomination,  and  that  Hale  will  decline, 
as  indeed  he  has  a  right  to  do  when  his  party  aban- 
don him.  What  can  be  done  ?  Van  Buren  is  too 
old  a  sinner  to  hope  for  his  conversion.  Had  the 


334        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

Barnburners  nominated  John  Van  Buren,  I  would 
have  gone  for  him,  for  he  is  not  bound  to  vindi- 
cate his  consistency  in  evil,  and  he  is  a  man  of 
progress.  Even  now,  if  the  Conscience  Whigs  so 
will  it,  he  might  be  substituted  for  his  father,  and 
thus  all  parties  might  unite.  I  see  no  other  way. 
As  things  now  stand  we  are  likely  to  lose  our  can- 
didate, for  self-respect  alone  and  self-preservation 
would  induce  him  to  withdraw  his  name  from  a  di- 
vided and  dissolving  party. 

"  Would  it  not  be  well  for  some  one  —  I  think 
thee  are  the  very  person  to  do  it  —  to  address  an 
earnest  letter  to  Martin  Van  Buren,  stating  the 
strong  desire  felt  to  effect  a  union  of  all  parties 
opposed  to  the  usurpations  of  slavery  —  putting 
the  question  plainly  to  him  whether  he  is  willing 
and  prepared  to  stand  at  the  head  of  such  a  move- 
ment, and  give  his  sanction  to  all  legal  and  con- 
stitutional means  for  the  limitation  and  overthrow 
of  slavery.  Write  to  him  in  behalf  of  eighty 
thousand  Liberty  voters.  It  is  important  that  we 
should  know  positively  how  he  stands.  The 
Whigs  generally,  I  think,  will  prefer  Van  Buren 
to  Hale,  strange  as  it  may  seem.  For  one,  I  can- 
not and  will  not  go  blindly  and  rashly  into  the  sup- 
port of  such  a  candidate  as  Van  Buren  —  let  Con- 
science Whigs  and  Western  Liberty  men  do  as 
they  will." 

TO   MOSES   A.    CARTLAND. 

27th  7th  mo.,  1848. 

I  would  like  to  go  to  the  Buffalo  convention,  but 
my  health  forbids  the  idea.  What  will  be  done 
there  ?  I  would  go  for  Van  Buren  —  if  Hale  de- 


LETTER    TO   GRACE   GREENWOOD    335 

cline  —  if  he  would  come  out  in  favor  of  abolition 
in  the  District  of  Columbia.  But  I  will  never  vote 
for  him  until  I  know  that  he  has  taken  a  new  posi- 
tion on  that  point.  How  we  should  look  if  Van 
Buren  were  elected  by  our  votes,  and  should  veto 
a  bill  to  abolish  the  most  infernal  slave  market 
this  side  of  Tophet !  No,  no.  .  I  will  vote  alone  be- 
fore I  will  so  stultify  myself  and  disgrace  the 
cause.  I  give  Van  Buren  all  due  credit  for  his 
stand  against  the  extension  of  slavery ;  but  if  we 
may  judge  by  his  own  letter,  while  all  the  world 
has  been  making  progress  in  liberal  principles, 
he  remains  just  where  he  was  in  1836.  If  the 
Buffalo  convention  are  wise  they  will  nominate 
John  P.  Hale  ;  or  if  not,  compel  Van  Buren  or  his 
friends  for  him  to  define  his  position.  After  hav- 
ing been  brayed  in  the  mortar  of  slavery  he  must 
be  stupider  than  Solomon's  fool  if  he  is  still  dis- 
posed to  act  the  part  of  a  "  Northern  man  with 
Southern  principles."  The  Free  Soil  movement 
—  the  animus  of  it  —  the  spirit  and  life  which  it 
infuses  into  the  people  —  is  indeed  glorious.  I 
hope  much  from  it,  and  will  do  all  I  can  to  urge  it 
forward.  How  nobly  Hale  behaves !  His  last 
speech  is  spoken  of  as  admirable  in  the  New  York 
papers.  I  wish  the  Barnburners  could  be  induced 
to  go  for  him. 

TO   GRACE    GREENWOOD. 

5th  mo.,  10,  1849. 

We  have  had  a  dreary  spring  —  a  gray  haze  in 
the  sky  —  a  dim,  beam-shorn  sun  —  a  wind  from 
the  northeast,  cold  as  if  sifted  through  all  the  ices 
of  frozen  Labrador,  as  terrible  almost  as  that  chill 


336        A    DECADE    OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

wind  which  the  old  Moslem  fable  says  will  blow 
over  the  earth  in  the  last  days.  The  birds  here- 
about have  a  sorry  time  of  it,  as  well  as  "  humans." 
There  are  now,  however,  indications  of  a  change 
for  the  better.  The  blossoms  of  the  peach  and 
cherry  are  just  opening,  and  the  arbutus,  anemones, 
and  yellow  violets  are  making  glad  and  beautiful 
the  banks  of  our  river.  I  feel  daily  like  thanking 
God  for  the  privilege  of  looking  upon  another  spring. 
I  have  written  very  little  this  spring,  —  the  "  Le- 
gend of  St.  Mark  "  is  all  in  the  line  of  verse  that  I 
have  attempted.  I  feel  a  growing  disinclination  to 
pen  and  ink.  Over- worked  and  tired  by  the  long 
weary  years  of  the  anti-slavery  struggle,  I  want 
mental  rest.  I  have  already  lived  a  long  life,  if 
thought  and  action  constitute  it.  I  have  crowded 
into  a  few  years  what  should  have  been  given  to 
many. 

In  1849,  Joseph  Sturge,  the  eminent  English 
philanthropist,  proposed  to  Mr.  Whittier  through 
Lewis  Tappan  that  he  visit  England,  offering  to 
pay  all  the  expenses  of  the  journey.  Mr.  Whittier 
replied  to  Mr.  Tappan,  under  date  of  July  14, 
1849:  — 

"  I  have  been  spending  some  weeks  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  New  Hampshire,  and  thy  kind  note 
relative  to  our  friend  Sturge' s  proposition,  re- 
ceives my  earliest  notice  on  my  return.  I  wish  it 
were  possible  for  me  to  avail  myself  of  so  gener- 
ous an  offer ;  but  in  my  present  very  weak  state 
of  health,  I  could  be  of  no  real  service  to  the  cause, 
without  making  exertions  to  which  my  strength  is 


LETTER    TO  LEWIS   TAPPAN  337 

inadequate.  If  I  could  visit  Europe  as  a  mere 
looker-on,  careless  and  indifferent  in  respect  to 
the  great  questions  which  agitate  it,  I  might  possi- 
bly be  benefited  by  it.  But  this  I  cannot  do,  and 
I  can  ill  bear  any  additional  excitement.  But? 
believe  me,  I  feel  none  the  less  grateful  to  our 
dear  and  generous  friend  Sturge,  and  to  thyself 
for  your  kindness. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  thou  art  now  a  '  free 
laborer '  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  peace,  and 
humanity.  I  have  often  marveled  at  the  vast 
amount  of  labor  performed  by  thee  in  addition  to 
thy  daily  and  engrossing  business,  in  behalf  of 
these  objects ;  and  for  thy  sake  as  well  as  for 
theirs,  I  am  glad  thou  art  able  to  bear  what 
Charles  Lamb  calls  '  the  dull  drudgery  of  the 
desk's  hard  wood.'  Thou  wilt,  I  apprehend,  find 
no  lack  of  occupation.  The  church  is  not  yet 
right  on  the  question  of  slavery.  The  nominal 
orthodoxy  of  the  land  has  sorely  suffered  through 
the  conduct  of  its  leaders  in  opposing  the  cause  of 
practical  righteousness.  No  man  can  do  more 
than  thyself  to  change  this  state  of  things.  The 
Free  Mission  movement  has  already  done  immense 
good ;  the  old  boards  will  all  be  compelled  soon  to 
take  the  same  ground  and  maintain  it. 

"  Then  in  the  matter  of  political  action,  strong 
as  is  my  confidence  in  the  good  intentions  of  the 
great  mass  of  Free  Soilers,  and  well  satisfied  as  I 
am  with  the  result  of  their  labors  thus  far,  I  am 
not  without  fear  that  they  may  be  drawn  into  some 
unworthy  compromise.  We  need  all  thy  vigilance 
and  wisdom  to  keep  us  straight  in  the  line  of  prin- 


338        A   DECADE  OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

ciple.  I  do  not  fear  for  the  integrity  of  the  old 
Liberty  men,  the  mob-tried,  church-censured  con- 
fessors of  '35  and  '36.  They  may  get  off  the  track 
now  and  then,  but  their  instincts  will  set  them 
right.  But  we  are  now  all  abolitionists ;  it  is  as 
difficult  to  find  an  open  pro-slavery  man  now  as 
it  was  in  '33  to  find  an  anti-slavery  one ;  yet  I 
have  scarcely  charity  enough  to  suppose  that  this 
marvelous  conversion  is  altogether  genuine  and 
heartfelt.  The  responsibilities  of  the  cause  never 
rested  heavier  on  the  genuine  old-fashioned  aboli- 
tionists than  at  this  time.  I  feel  extremely  anx- 
ious about  the  result  of  the  attempt  to  unite  the 
Barnburners  with  the  old  Hunkers  in  your  State. 
If  they  can  come  together  on  the  basis  of  the  Ver- 
mont resolutions  I  shall  hope  for  the  best. 

"  The  next  Congress  will  settle  the  California 
and  New  Mexico  question.  I  look  forward  with 
hope  not  wholly  unmingled  with  fear.  Can  thee 
not  spend  a  few  weeks  at  Washington  this  winter  ? 
Depend  upon  it,  there  will  be  ample  opportunity 
for  the  profitable  exercise  of  all  thy  powers.  Dr. 
Bailey  [of  the  '  National  Era  ']  is  confined  to  his 
office ;  there  must  be  some  one  always  there  to 
supply  the  members  with  necessary  facts,  for  they 
are  all  sadly  ignorant  in  this  matter.  But  alas,  I 
am  laying  out  work  for  others,  while  I  am  myself 
well-nigh  powerless !  What  Providence  has  in 
store  for  me  I  know  not,  but  my  heart  is  full  of 
thankfulness  that  I  have  been  permitted  to  do 
something  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  that 
with  all  my  sins  and  errors  I  have  not  been  suf- 
fered to  live  wholly  for  myself. 


"UNCLE   TOM'S   CABIN"  339 

"  I  saw  the  Rogers  family  at  Plymouth.  They 
spoke  of  thee  with  affectionate  warmth.  Kind, 
gifted,  amiable,  they  have  all  the  pleasant  traits  of 
their  father ;  but  the  conduct  of  some  of  the 
church  and  clergy  in  respect  to  him  has  made 
them  skeptical,  and  prejudiced  them  against  the 
forms  of  religious  observances." 

In  1848,  after  the  Buffalo  convention  that  nom- 
inated Van  Buren,  the  Liberty  party  had  high 
hopes  from  the  division  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
New  York,  and  Whittier  wrote  his  "  Paean  "  with 
the  feeling  that  the  North  was  at  last  thoroughly 
aroused,  and  that  the  encroachments  of  slavery 
would  be  stopped.  But  it  was  found  that  the 
North  was  not  quite  ready  for  a  full  revolt.  It 
was  necessary  to  fill  the  measure  of  its  humiliation 
by  the  passage  of  the  fugitive  slave  law ;  and  even 
that  was  not  enough,  as  the  event  proved. 

The  "  Era  "  had  become  self-supporting  in  the 
first  year  of  its  existence.  Some  of  its  readers  ob- 
jected to  the  stories,  sketches  of  travel,  and  poems 
that  had  no  reference  to  the  cause  in  which  they 
were  interested,  but  Dr.  Bailey  informed  them 
that  it  was  this  literary  element  that  kept  the  en- 
terprise afloat,  and  he  should  continue  to  draw 
upon  it.  Of  course,  there  was  no  complaint  from 
any  anti-slavery  reader,  while  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin, 
or  Life  among  the  Lowly,"  was  appearing  as  a 
serial,  in  1851-52.  Even  readers  principled 
against  novels  could  not  resist  the  fascination  of 
that  remarkable  story,  which  was  coining  out  in 
weekly  installments,  while  the  operations  of  the 
fugitive  slave  law  were  exciting  a  deep  feeling  of 


840        A    DECADE    OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

indignation  throughout  the  North.  Whittier's 
charming  sketch  of  character  and  manners  in 
the  ancient  times  of  New  England,  which,  while  it 
was  appearing  in  the  "Era,"  had  for  its  title, 
"  Stray  Leaves  from  Margaret  Smith's  Diary,  in 
the  Colony  of  Massachusetts,"  was  published  as  a 
serial  in  1848,  and  was  reprinted  in  book  form  in 
1849,  with  the  title  "  Margaret  Smith's  Journal." 
While  this  volume  was  in  press,  Mr.  Whittier 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  J.  T.  Fields,  in  re- 
gard to  a  proposed  portrait  of  Rebecca  Eawson, 
and  the  matter  of  following  the  ancient  system  of 
capitalization,  which  had  been  adopted  in  the  ori- 
ginal publication  of  the  work  as  a  serial  in  the 
"  Era,"  but  was  discarded  in  the  book.  The  let- 
ter was  dated  December  12,  1848  : 

"  I  send  herewith  the  engraving  of  R.  Rawson, 
taken  after  her  abandonment  by  her  husband. 
She  was  about  twenty-one  when  married,  and  about 
thirty-five  when  she  died.  The  picture  represents 
her  at  the  latter  age.  As  an  authentic  picture  of 
the  heroine  of  the  4  Journal '  it  might  be  well  to 
have  it  in  the  book.  I  begin  to  have  some  fears 
that  the  capitals  will  be  a  little  too  thick  for  a 
handsome  page.  It  was  not  an  invariable  rule  to 
use  them  at  that  time  —  in  fact  there  was  no  rule 
about  it.  You  can  scarce  find  two  books  of  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  alike  in  spelling 
and  lettering.  Just  get  a  proof  of  one  or  two 
pages,  and  see  how  it  looks.  If  it  is  likely  to  dis- 
figure the  page,  strike  out  most  of  them,  and  let 
us  Lave  the  more  important  words  capitalized." 

As  originally  published  in  the  "  Era,"  the  episode 


"MARGARET  SMITH'S  JOURNAL"      841 

of  the  wandering  Milesian  schoolmaster,  O'Shane, 
with  his  ballad  "  Kathleen,"  does  not  appear  in 
this  story.  It  was  sent  to  Mr.  Fields  to  be  in- 
serted when  the  book  was  in  press,  and  three  of  the 
best  stanzas  were  an  afterthought,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  letter,  dated  January  3,  1849 :  — 
"  That  rascally  old  ballad  occurred  to  my  mind 
last  evening,  and  it  struck  me  that  it  wanted  some- 
thing, although  already  too  long.  The  following 
verses  might  do  to  follow  (I  quote  from  memory) 
the  verse 

" '  He  tore  his  beard  so  gray  ; 
But  he  was  old  and  she  was  young, 
And  so  she  had  her  way  '  — 

"Sure  that  same  night  the  Banshee  howled 

To  fright  the  evil  dame, 
And  fairy  folks  who  loved  Kathleen 
With  funeral  torches  came. 

"  She  watched  them  gleaming  through  the  trees, 

And  glimmering  down  the  hill ; 
They  crept  before  the  dead-vault  door, 
And  then  they  all  stood  still ! 

" '  Get  up,  old  man !   the  wake-lights  shine ! ' 

'  Ye  murthering  witch,'  quoth  he, 
*  So  I  'm  rid  of  your  tongue  I  little  care 
If  they  shine  for  you  or  me  !  '  ' 

I  think  there  is  a  touch  of  nature  —  old  Adam's  — 
in  the  last  verse,  but  if  it  is  too  late  let  it  pass. 
.  .  .  The  weather  this  morning  is  cold  enough  for 
an  Esquimaux  purgatory  —  terrible." 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  "  Margaret  Smith's 
Journal,"  in  March,  1849,  Eev.  Theodore  Parker 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Whittier :  — 


342        A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

"  Your  little  book  of  '  Leaves  from  Margaret 
Smith's  Journal '  emboldens  me  to  write  and  ask 
you  if  you  would  not  furnish  for  the  '  Massachusetts 
Quarterly  Review '  a  paper  on  the  Servants,  i.  e., 
the  White  Slaves,  which  our  fathers  brought  to 
New  England,  or  otherwise  acquired,  and  held  in 
most  wicked  bondage.  I  know  how  well  you  have 
studied  the  subject  of  our  early  history,  and  sup- 
pose that  it  would  not  be  so  laborious  for  you  as  for 
me  to  do  the  work.  The  subject  is  new ;  the  matter 
little  known,  little  thought  of,  yet  it  is  interesting 
and  highly  important.  If  you  will  be  good  enough 
to  inform  me  whether  you  will  do  so  or  not,  you 
will  much  oblige  me.  I  should  not  want  the  paper 
before  the  middle  of  October." 

Mr.  Whittier  was  unable  to  furnish  the  article 
called  for.  But  twenty  years  later,  in  "Mar- 
guerite," and  in  the  preface  he  prepared  for  that 
poem,  he  has  referred  to  the  subject,  and  also 
in  a  letter  he  wrote  in  regard  to  "  Evangeline." 
Before  Longfellow  considered  the  matter  of  writ- 
ing "  Evangeline,"  Whittier  had  made  a  study 
of  the  history  of  the  banishment  of  the  Acadians, 
and  had  intended  to  write  upon  it,  but  he  put  it 
off  until  he  found  that  Hawthorne  was  thinking 
about  it,  and  had  suggested  it  to  Longfellow. 
After  the  appearance  of  "Evangeline,"  Mr.  Whit- 
tier was  glad  of  his  delay,  for  he  said  :  — 

"  Longfellow  was  just  the  one  to  write  it.  If  I 
had  attempted  it  I  should  have  spoiled  the  artistic 
effect  of  the  poem  by  my  indignation  at  the  treat- 
ment of  the  exiles  by  the  Colonial  Government, 
who  had  a  very  hard  lot  after  coming  to  this  coun- 


LITERARY  STRENGTH  OF  THE  "ERA"    343 

try.  Families  were  separated  and  scattered  about, 
only  a  few  of  them  being  permitted  to  remain  in 
any  given  locality.  The  children  were  bound  out 
to  the  families  in  the  localities  in  which  they  re- 
sided, and  I  wrote  a  poem  upon  finding,  in  the 
records  of  Haverhill,  the  indenture  that  bound  an 
Acadian  girl  as  a  servant  in  one  of  the  families  of 
that  neighborhood.  Gathering  the  story  of  her 
death  I  wrote  fc  Marguerite.' ' 

The  biographical  sketches  entitled  "  Old  Por- 
traits "  were  among  Mr.  Whittier's  contributions 
to  the  "  National  Era,"  and  also  some  of  the  pa- 
pers included  in  his  "  Literary  Recreations." 
During  his  connection  with  this  paper  he  furnished 
nearly  ninety  poems,  which,  as  Mr.  Underwood 
remarks,  exceed  in  number,  power,  variety,  and 
interest  any  series,  except,  perhaps,  that  con- 
tributed to  the  "  Atlantic  Monthly."  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne  submitted  to  Whittier  his  story  of 
"  The  Great  Stone  Face  ;  "  it  was  accepted  for  the 
u  Era,"  and  published  January  24,  1850,  Haw- 
thorne receiving  twenty-five  dollars  for  it.  Theo- 
dore Parker  issued  his  powerful  address  "  To  the 
People  of  the  United  States,"  in  1848,  through 
the  columns  of  this  paper. 

As  a  business  venture,  "  Margaret  Smith's  Jour- 
nal "  had  proved  somewhat  successful,  although 
the  amount  realized  for  it  by  Mr.  Whittier  was 
not  large,  and  Mr.  Fields  in  the  summer  of  1849 
was  urging  Whittier  to  get  out  another  volume  of 
prose,  to  be  made  up  of  his  contributions  to  the 
"  National  Era."  While  this  was  being  consid- 
ered, Whittier  wrote  to  Fields,  under  date  of  July 
30,  1849 :  — 


344        A    DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

"  I  can't  yet  make  up  my  mind,  but  will  let  thee 
know  in  the  course  of  the  next  ten  days,  definitely. 
As  for  a  title,  this  will  nearly  express  the  con- 
tents of  the  volume,  '  Old  Portraits  and  Modern 
Sketches.'  ...  I  shall  send  the  documents  for  thy 
inspection  at  any  rate.  I  have  a  mass  of  material, 
but  it 's  like  Chaos,  without  form,  and,  what  is 
worse,  oftentimes  void.''' 

At  about  this  time,  in  response  to  a  call  from 
Mr.  Fields  for  a  contribution  to  an  annual,  Mr. 
Whittier  wrote :  — 

"  In  regard  to  your  '  Boston  Book '  I  have  no- 
thing available  on  hand  for  it,  either  in  prose  or 
rhyme.  But  some  years  ago  I  wrote  a  story  for 
the  4  N.  E.  Magazine,'  called  '  The  Opium  Eater.' 
I  have  almost  forgotten  about  it,  and  I  dare  say 
everybody  else  has  entirely ;  which  might  be  made 
use  of  as  good  as  new.  It  is  wholly  unlike  any- 
thing else  of  my  writing,  as  near  as  I  can  recol- 
lect." 

Mrs.  E.  D.  E.  N.  Southworth  began  her  career 
as  a  novelist  with  several  stories  written  for  the 
"  Era."  Mr.  Whittier  met  her  while  in  Washing- 
ton, in  1847,  and  read  some  of  her  first  manu- 
scripts. "  Grace  Greenwood "  was  a  frequent 
contributor  of  both  prose  and  verse,  and  she  be- 
gan a  friendly  correspondence  with  Mr.  Whittier 
which  lasted  to  the  end  of  his  life.  While  writing 
for  the  "  Era,"  her  name  appeared  on  the  covers 
of  a  popular  Philadelphia  magazine  as  one  of  its 
editors.  But  as  in  her  letters  to  the  organ  of  the 
Liberty  party  she  was  quite  outspoken  on  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery,  the  proprietor  of  the  magazine 


GRACE  GREENWOOD  345 

began  to  hear  complaints  from  the  South  that  he 
was  employing  an  abolitionist,  and  his  publication 
could  not  be  received  as  long  as  Grace  Greenwood 
was  on  the  editorial  staff,  or  even  an  occasional 
contributor.  Acting  upon  his  first  impulse  he 
dropped  her  name  from  the  cover,  with  some 
parade  of  subserviency,  but  he  found  this  lost  him 
subscribers  at  the  North,  and,  without  consulting 
her,  he  restored  it.  She  refused  to  continue  in  his 
employment.  At  about  the  same  time  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  publish  his  own  full-length  portrait 
as  a  frontispiece  to  the  magazine.  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  stinging  poem  of  Whittier's,  "  Lines 
on  a  Portrait  of  a  Celebrated  Publisher : "  — 

"  A  greedy  Northern  bottle-fly 

Preserved  in  Slavery's  umber  !  ' ' 

The  original  title  of  the  poem  l  was  "  Lines  on  the 
portrait  of  a  celebrated  publisher  who  has  lately 
saved  the  Union,  and  lost  a  contributor." 

Mr.  Whittier  was  always  quick  to  resent  an  in- 
sult to  a  cause  that  was  near  his  heart,  or  an 
injury  to  a  friend,  but  he  was  kind  and  apprecia- 
tive in  his  editorial  reviews  of  the  works  not  only 
of  his  literary  friends  but  of  strangers.  Helpful 
paragraphs  about  the  young  writers  of  his  time  are 
scattered  through  the  columns  of  all  the  papers  he 
edited  or  with  which  he  corresponded.  If  he  had 
occasion  to  criticise,  it  was  done  in  such  a  way  as 

1  In  a  letter  to  J.  T.  Fields,  written   October  26,  1850,  Whit- 
tier  encloses  this  poem  with  the  remark :  "  I  send  thee ,  done 

after  my  fashion.  It  was  written  before  I  heard  of  Calhoun's 
illness,  or  I  should  have  substituted  the  name  of  Foote."  Cal- 
houn  was  not  mentioned  by  name  in  the  poem,  but  referred  to  as 
*  Carolina's  sage." 


346       A   DECADE   OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

to  leave  no  rankling  wound.  His  friends,  Holmes, 
Longfellow,  and  Lowell,  each  published  volumes  of 
poems  in  1849,  and  of  each  he  wrote  elaborate 
reviews.  That  of  Holmes  comes  under  the  head  of 
"  Mirth  and  Medicine."  In  his  review  of  Lowell 
he  selects  "  The  Present  Crisis "  as  the  noblest 
poem  in  the  collection.  He  speaks  of  Longfellow 
as  "  one  of  the  sweetest  poets  of  our  time,"  and 
has  especial  praise  for  "  The  Fire  of  Driftwood  " 
and  "  Resignation." 

The  poem  "  Our  State,"  published  in  the  "  Era  " 
in  1849,  was  originally  entitled  "  Dedication  of  a 
Schoolhouse,"  and  was  written  for  the  dedicatory 
services  of  the  high  school  building  in  Newbury, 
Mass.  An  address  was  delivered  on  that  occasion 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Leonard  Withington,  and  Whittier's 
hymn  was  sung  by  the  assembly.  The  first  two 
lines  as  originally  published  were  :  — 

"  The  South-land  hath  its  fields  of  cane, 
The  prairie  boasts  its  heavy  grain." 

This  was  afterwards  changed  to :  — 

"  The  South-land  boasts  its  teeming1  cane, 
The  prairied  West  its  heavy  grain." 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

POETRY  AND  POLITICS. 

1850-1856. 

No  comprehensive  edition  of  Whittier's  poems 
had  been  published  before  1849,  when  B.  B.  Mus- 
sey  &  Co.  of  Boston  gave  them  to  the  public  in  a 
dignified  octavo  volume,  which  by  its  style  was  a 
recognition  of  the  position  attained  by  the  poet. 
Mr.  Mussey  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  poet 
in  his  anti-slavery  views,  and  was  determined, 
whether  or  not  he  made  money  out  of  his  venture, 
to  give  the  poems  a  setting  in  accordance  with 
what  he  considered  their  intrinsic  value.  He  sur- 
prised Mr.  Whittier  by  offering  him  five  hundred 
dollars  for  his  copyrights,  and  also  a  percentage  on 
his  sales.  With  the  single  exception  of  "  Lays  of 
My  Home,"  published  by  W.  D.  Ticknor  in  1843, 
no  book  of  Whittier's  had  up  to  this  time  paid 
him  any  royalty  worth  mentioning.  Mussey's 
stout  octavo  volume,  beautifully  printed  in  large 
type  on  heavy  paper,  neatly  bound,  and  exquisitely 
illustrated  with  steel  engravings,  from  designs  by 
Hammatt  Billings,  met  with  an  unexpectedly 
large  sale,  and  Mr.  Mussey  earned  the  gratitude 
of  Mr.  Whittier  by  paying  him  more  than  he  had 
agreed.  A  second  and  a  third  edition  were  called 


348  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

for.  In  the  mean  time  Mr.  Whittier  had  been 
arranging  with  Mr.  Fields  for  the  publication  of 
"  Songs  of  Labor,"  which  appeared  in  the  early 
summer  of  1850.  While  correspondence  was 
going  on  between  the  poet  and  his  publisher,  Mr. 
Fields  was  married.  Mr.  Whittier  wrote  his  con- 
gratulations in  a  postscript  to  a  letter :  — 

"  And  now,  business  over,  let  me  in  all  sincer- 
ity, bachelor  as  I  am,  congratulate  thee  on  thy 
escape  from  single  misery.  It  is  the  very  wisest 
thing  thee  ever  did.  Were  I  autocrat  I  would  see 
to  it  that  every  young  man  over  twenty-five,  and 
every  young  woman  over  twenty,  was  married  with- 
out delay.  Perhaps,  on  second  thought,  it  might 
be  well  to  keep  one  old  maid  and  one  old  bachelor 
in  each  town,  by  way  of  warning,  just  as  the 
Spartans  did  their  drunken  Helots." 

On  the  6th  of  May  he  returned  a  proof-sheet  of 
"  The  Drovers,"  and  some  idea  of  Fields'  criticism 
may  be  gleaned  from  the  characteristic  remarks  of 
Whittier.  As  originally  published  in  the  "  Era,'* 
in  1847,  the  first  lines  of  this  stanza  stood  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

"  From  many  a  Northern  lake  and  hill 

To  Ocean's  far-off  water 
Shall  Fancy  play  the  Drover  still, 
And  make  the  long  night  shorter." 

Mr.  Whittier  wrote :  "  I  send  thee  the  proof 
sadly  disfigured,  for  which  thank  thyself.  I  have 
altered  some  of  the  rhymes ;  others  I  have  left  to 
their  fate.  Heaven  help  them,  I  cannot.  In  the 
verse  commencing 

"  '  By  many  a  Northern  lake  and  hill,' 


«  SONGS  OF  LABOR  "  349 

I  don't  think  I  have  mended  the  matter.  4  Pas- 
ture,' '  faster,'  l  water,'  '  shorter '  —  both  are 
good  Yankee  rhymes,  but  out  of  New  England 
they  would  be  cashiered.  Take  thy  choice,  I  see 
no  difference.  I  have  tried  other  '  Songs  of  La- 
bor,' but  I  cannot  get  the  spirit  of  the  early 
ones,  and  I  think  it  best  to  let  them  go  by  them- 
selves. I  have  exhausted  that  vein,  so  far  as  I 
am  concerned.  .  .  .  Kearsarge  is  pronounced 
always  Ke'-ar-sarge.  ...  I  send  '  Memories '  out 
of  respect  to  thy  opinion  and  that  of  our  friend 
Whipple.  Is  it  best  to  print  it?  I  humbly 
thank  thee  for  thy  suggestions ;  let  me  have  more 
of  them."  Mr.  Fields  evidently  preferred  "  pas- 
ture "  and  "  faster  "  as  rhymes  to  "  water  "  and 
"  shorter,"  and  the  poem  has  ever  since  had  this 
reading :  — 

"  By  many  a  Northern  lake  and  hill, 
From  many  a  mountain  pasture, 
Shall  Fancy  play  the  Drover  still, 
And  speed  the  long  night  faster." 

Beside  the  six  songs  of  labor,  there  were  twenty- 
one  miscellaneous  poems  in  this  volume,  including 
«  The  Lakeside,"  "  The  Hill-Top,"  "  An  Eagle's 
Quill,"  "Memories,"  "Legend  of  St.  Mark," 
«Ichabod,""ToA.  K.,"etc. 

In  a  note  to  Fields  sent  with  some  proof-sheets 
of  the  "  Songs  of  Labor,"  Whittier  stands  out 
for  some  rhymes  which  had  been  criticised  by  his 
publisher,  but  adds  :  "  However,  as  they  say  in 
the  East,  Who  is  my  mother's  son  that  I  should 
presume  to  dictate  to  thy  superior  wisdom  ?  Do 
as  seemeth  best  in  thine  own  eyes,  and  I  shall  take 


350  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

it  for  granted  it  is  best.  I  have  had  no  leisure 
when  in  tolerable  health  for  any  polishing  of  my 
rhymes.  I  suppose  under  such  circumstances  I 
ought  not  to  have  made  any,  but  I  could  not  help  it." 

In  another  note  he  follows  a  suggestion  to 
substitute  "  farmer  girls  "  for  "  corn-fed  girls  "  in 
"  The  Huskers,"  although  himself  preferring  the 
latter  phrase,  and  justifying  it  by  referring  to 
Allan  Ramsay's  "  kail-fed  lassies."  The  stanza 
in  the  Dedication  of  the  "  Songs  of  Labor  "  begin- 
ning, "  The  doom  which  to  the  guilty  pair,"  was 
an  afterthought,  sent  with  the  proof-sheet,  accom- 
panied by  a  note  containing  this  sentence :  "  Pray 
get  out  the  book  as  soon  as  possible,  for  your  own 
sake ;  I  have  a  terrible  propensity,  always  after  it 
is  too  late,  to  see  something  which  I  ought  to 
have  seen  before." 

When  Whittier  was  preparing  the  copy  for  the 
volume  "  Old  Portraits  and  Modern  Sketches," 
published  in  1850,  he  placed  the  articles  he  pro- 
posed to  use  in  a  portfolio,  upon  a  fly-leaf  of  which 
we  find  in  pencil  these  lines,  which  were  appar- 
ently intended  for  a  preface  or  inscription  to  the 
work :  — 

"  For  whatever  here  is  wrong1 1  crave 

Forgiveness  ;  and  if  haply  there  be  found 

Sweet  flower  or  healing  herb  where  weeds  abound. 

How  shall  I  dare  to  claim 
As  mine  the  gifts  the  Heavenly  Father  gave, 
Or  without  guilty  shame 
From  His  own  blessings  frame 
A  pagan  temple  for  the  idol  Fame  ?  " 

One  of  the  poems  included  in  the  volume  has  an 
interest  as  a  sort  of  confession  of  faith :  for  once, 


FREE-S01LERS  AND  DEMOCRATS      351 

when  asked  by  what  poem  he  would  wish  to  be 
most  remembered,  he  waited  a  moment,  and  then 
thoughtfully  and  seriously  answered,  "  I  think 
4  The  Reformer  '  embodies  my  sentiments." 

In  1850,  Mr.  Whittier  was  active  in  bringing 
about  the  coalition  between  the  Free-Soilers  and  the 
Democrats,  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  George 
S.  Boutwell  as  governor  of  Massachusetts,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  Free-Soilers  should  name 
the  United  States  Senator  and  some  of  the  state 
officials.  Mr.  Whittier  insisted  that  Sumner 
should  be  named  as  the  Free-Soil  candidate  for 
Senator,  to  fill  the  place  made  vacant  by  the  resig- 
nation of  Daniel  Webster,  who  entered  the  cabinet 
of  President  Fillmore.  Whittier  went  to  Phillips 
Beach,  Swampscott,  to  consult  Sumner  about  the 
matter,  and  to  induce  him  to  accept  the  nomination 
for  the  senatorship,  in  case  the  coalition  of  Free- 
Soilers  and  Democrats  carried  the  State.  Sumner 
was  unwilling,  but  listened  to  his  arguments,  and 
at  length  consented.  It  was  to  this  visit  that  the 
poet  referred  in  his  poem  "  To  Charles  Sumner :  " 

"  Thou  knowest  my  heart,  dear  friend,  and  well  canst  guess 
That,  even  though  silent,  I  have  not  the  less 
Rejoiced  to  see  thy  actual  life  agree 
With  the  large  future  which  I  shaped  for  thee, 
When,  years  ago,  beside  the  summer  sea, 
White  in  the  moon,  we  saw  the  long  waves  fall 
Baffled  and  broken  from  the  rocky  wall, 
That,  to  the  menace  of  the  brawling  flood, 
Opposed  alone  its  massive  quietude, 
Calm  as  a  fate ;  with  not  a  leaf  nor  vine 
Nor  birch-spray  trembling  in  the  still  moonshine, 
Crowning  it  like  God's  peace." 

After   the    governor    and    his    council   had  been 


352  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

elected  in  conformity  with  the  terms  of  the  coali- 
tion, some  of  the  Democrats  refused  to  vote  for 
Sumner,  and  the  result  was  a  prolonged  contest. 
The  Whigs  voted  for  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  and 
the  Democrats  whose  consciences  would  not  allow 
them  to  vote  for  a  Free-Soiler  scattered  their 
votes.  Caleb  Gushing  led  the  anti-Sumner  Demo- 
crats. Governor  Boutwell's  inaugural  address 
gave  offense  to  his  Free-Soil  allies.  When  Mr. 
Whittier  saw  that  the  Democrats  were  not  disposed 
to  do  as  they  had  agreed,  he  wrote  this  letter  to 
Sumner  in  the  first  heat  of  his  indignation  :  — 

"  Illness,  severe  and  protracted,  confines  me  at 
home,  or  I  should  have  seen  thee.  I  have  read 
the  message  of  Governor  B. ;  it  is,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, insulting  and  monstrous.  May  God 
forgive  us  for  permitting  his  election.  I  have 
watched  the  balloting  with  intense  anxiety.  I  see 
now  no  hope  of  our  success.  I  think  it  is  deter- 
mined by  both  branches  of  the  Democracy  to  de- 
feat our  purposes.  Under  these  circumstances, 
dear  Sumner,  I,  who  urged  the  nomination  so 
strongly  and  imperatively,  must  now  confess  I  see 
no  other  course  for  thee  than  to  decline  at  once. 
And  Wilson,  Knapp,  Walker,  and  the  three 
councilors  should  at  once  resign  their  places. 
Think  of  a  Free-Soiler  in  Governor  B.'s  council ! 
As  the  election  of  one  of  our  own  men  is  hopeless, 
if  I  were  in  the  legislature  I  would  vote  Governor 
G.  N.  Briggs  right  into  the  United  States  Senate, 
as  an  anti- Webster,  anti-Fugitive  Slave  Law  can- 
didate. We  have  done  him  an  injustice ;  and  he  is 
at  heart  right  on  the  great  questions  in  which  we 


CHARLES  SUMNER  353 

feel  an  interest.  I  write,  as  thou  wilt  see,  in  haste, 
and  with  the  roused  feeling  incidental  upon  the 
perusal  of  that  detestable  message,  and  the  vote  in 
the  House.  I  wish  thee  to  consult  at  once  with  our 
friends,  Sewall,  Adams,  S.  G.  Howe,  and  others, 
and  with  Earle  and  others  in  the  legislature. 
Thus  far  thy  position  has  been  manly  and  honor- 
able. There  is  now,  as  it  seems  to  me,  a  new  state 
of  things,  requiring  a  new  course  of  action.  Par- 
don the  abruptness  of  this  note ;  it  is  the  result  of 
feeling  rather  than  deliberate  reflection," 

Sumner's  own  wish  was  in  accordance  with 
Whittier's  suggestion,  but  in  the  councils  of  the 
party  it  was  decided  he  should  continue  his  candi- 
dacy. The  popular  feeling  against  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  was  increasing  in  intensity,  and  began  to 
have  its  effect  upon  the  legislature.  Towards  the 
last  of  March,  Sumner  wished  to  consult  with 
Whittier,  and  urged  him  to  come  to  Boston.  If 
he  had  been  in  good  health  he  would  have  been  at 
work  on  the  floor  of  the  House  during  the  whole 
contest.  But  he  was  compelled  to  write  the  fol- 
lowing letter :  — 

"  Thy  letter,  most  welcome,  was  received  yester- 
day, and  would  have  been  answered  in  person  had 
I  been  able  to  leave  here.  I  can  only  assure  thee 
that  were  I  able  to  visit  Boston  just  now  I  should 
need  no  other  inducement  than  thy  request.  I 
have  watched  with  deep  interest  the  proceedings 
in  our  legislature,  and  have,  I  think,  fully  compre- 
hended thy  feelings,  and  sympathized  with  thee  in 
the  peculiar  and  difficult  position  in  which  thou 
iiast  been  placed.  As  matters  now  stand,  I  can- 


354  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

not  venture  to  offer  advice.  I  fear  there  would 
be  no  prospect  of  electing  any  true  man  if  thou 
shouldst  withdraw,  as  it  would  somewhat  remove 
obligation  from  the  Democrats  to  vote  with  us. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  should  be  sorry  to  have  the 
election  thrown  upon  the  next  legislature,  as  the 
Whigs  will  be  sure  of  a  majority  in  that  body. 
We  could  not  again  unite  with  the  Democrats, 
if  this  legislature  adjourns  without  thy  election. 
We  could  not  trust  them  ;  it  would  be  folly  to 
think  of  it.  But  I  am  talking  at  arm's  length 
and  without  data.  Need  I  tell  thee  that  I  should 
be  right  glad  to  see  thee  at  Amesbury.  Why  not 
come  and  spend  First  day  with  us  ?  Thou  canst 
go  back  by  the  seven  o'clock  train  on  Second  day 
(Monday)  morning.  I  shall  expect  thee.  Do  not 
disappoint  me." 

Sumner  went  to  Amesbury  and  consulted  with 
his  friend  and  adviser.  At  last,  on  the  24th  da}^ 
of  April,  upon  the  twenty-sixth  ballot,  Sumner  by 
a  majority  of  one  was  elected  United  States  Sen- 
ator, a  position  he  held  continuously  until  his 
death.  Here  is  Whittier's  letter  of  congratula- 
tion :  — 

"  I  take  earliest  moment  of  ability,  after  a  sud- 
den and  severe  attack  of  illness,  to  congratulate 
thee,  not  so  much  on  thy  election,  as  upon  the 
proof  which  it  offers  of  the  turning  of  the  tide 
• —  the  recoil  of  the  popular  feeling  —  the  near 
and  certain  doom  of  the  wicked  Slave  Law.  My 
heart  is  full  of  gratitude  to  God.  For  when  1 
consider  the  circumstances  of  this  election,  I  am 
constrained  to  regard  it  as  His  work.  And  I  re- 


CHARLES  SUMNER  355 

joice  that  thy  position  is  so  distinct  and  emphatic  i 
that  thy  triumph  is  such  a  direct  rebuke  to  politi- 
cians, hoary  with  years  of  political  chicanery  and 
fraud  ;  that  unpledged,  free,  and  without  a  single 
concession  or  compromise,  thou  art  enabled  to 
take  thy  place  in  the  United  States  Senate.  May 
the  good  Providence  which  has  overruled  the  pur- 
poses of  thy  life,  in  this  matter,  give  thee  strength 
and  grace  to  do  great  things  for  humanity.  I 
never  knew  such  a  general  feeling  of  real  heart- 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  as  is  manifested  by  all 
except  inveterate  Hunkers,  in  view  of  thy  election. 
The  whole  country  is  electrified  by  it.  Sick  abed, 
I  heard  the  guns  —  Quaker  as  I  am  —  with  real 
satisfaction." 

A  letter  written  on  the  18th  of  May,  1851,  to 
his  friend  Grace  Greenwood,  has  so  full  an  expres- 
sion of  his  feeling  in  regard  to  the  election  of 
Sumner,  that  it  is  here  inserted  :  — 

"  I  am  slowly  recovering  from  the  severest  ill- 
ness I  have  known  for  years,  the  issue  of  which, 
at  one  time,  was  to  me  exceedingly  doubtful. 
Indeed,  I  scarcely  know  now  how  to  report  myself, 
but  I  am  better,  and  full  of  gratitude  to  God  that 
I  am  permitted  once  more  to  go  abroad  and  enjoy 
this  beautiful  springtime.  The  weather  now  is 
delightfully  warm  and  bright,  and  the  soft  green 
of  the  meadows  is  climbing  our  hills.  It  is  luxury 
to  live.  One  feels  at  such  times  terribly  rooted  to 
this  world  :  old  Mother  Earth  seems  sufficient  for 
us.  ...  After  a  long  trial  and  much  anxiety,  our 
grand  object  in  Massachusetts  has  been  attained. 
We  have  sent  Charles  Sumner  into  the  United 


356  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

States  Senate,  —  a  man  physically  and  spiritually 
head  and  shoulders  above  the  old  hackneyed  politi- 
cians of  that  body.  The  plan  for  this  was  worked 
out  last  summer  at  Phillips  Beach,  and  I  sounded 
Sumner  upon  it  the  evening  we  left  you  at  that 
place.  He  really  did  not  want  the  office,  but  we 
forced  it  upon  him.  I  am  proud  of  old  Massachu- 
setts, and  thankful  that  I  have  had  an  humble 
share  in  securing  her  so  true  and  worthy  a  repre- 
sentative  of  her  honor,  her  freedom,  and  intellect, 
as  Charles  Sumner.  He  is  a  noble  and  gifted 
man,  earnest  and  truthful.  I  hope  great  things  of 
him,  and  I  do  not  fear  for  his  integrity  and  fidel- 
ity, under  any  trial.  That  Sims  case  was  partic- 
ularly mean  on  the  part  of  the  Boston  shopkeepers. 
I  never  felt  so  indignant  as  when  I  saw  the  court- 
house in  chains." 

The  "  soberer  piece  "  referred  to  in  the  follow- 
ing letter  was  "  Moloch  in  State  Street,"  which 
was  published  in  the  "  National  Era  "  of  May  22, 
1851.  The  rendition  of  the  fugitive  slave,  Thomas 
Sims,  by  United  States  officials,  aided  by  the 
armed  police  of  Boston,  and  abetted  by  State 
Street  merchants,  at  night,  by  stealth,  while  the 
state  officials  who  would  have  prevented  it  slept, 
occurred  a  few  days  before  the  election  of  Sumner, 
and  caused  an  outburst  of  popular  feeling  which 
probably  hastened  the  election.  The  "  bit  of 
doggerel,"  referred  to  below,  has  never  appeared 
in  any  edition  of  Whittier's  works ;  it  served  its 
turn  as  a  bit  of  poetical  fireworks,  for  an  evening's 
amusement.  Many  such  "  occasional "  poems  were 
written  by  him,  with  no  expectation  that  they 
would  be  printed.  He  wrote  to  Sumner  :  — 


Charles  Sumner 


POETICAL  FIREWORKS  357 

"  The  bit  of  doggerel l  on  the  other  page  might 
answer  to  raise  a  laugh  at  our  friend  Gilbert 
Gore's  party  to-morrow  evening,  which  I  expect  I 
cannot  enjoy  in  person.  Give  it,  if  there  is  no- 
thing objectionable  in  it,  to  friend  Burlingame,  or 
some  one  who  will  be  at  the  party,  as  the  anony- 
mous contribution  of  a  friend  who  could  not  be 
present.  My  soberer  piece  was  sent  to  the  '  Era  ' 
a  fortnight  ago,  but  when  it  will  appear,  if  at  all, 
is  uncertain.  I  quite  approve  of  thy  decision  in 
respect  to  public  speaking  to  any  great  extent. 
Thy  letter  of  acceptance  gives  great  satisfaction 
to  all  except  the  inveterate  Hunkers.  I  feel 
exceedingly  anxious  for  Palfrey's  success,  and  I 
do  not  think  it  would  be  any  way  improper  for 

1  WHAT  STATE  STREET  SAID  TO  SOUTH  CARO- 
LINA, AND  WHAT  SOUTH  CAROLINA  SAID  TO 
STATE  STREET. 

Muttering  "fine  upland  staple,"  "prime  Sea  Island  finer," 
With  cotton  bales  pictured  on  either  retina, 

"  Your  pardon !  "  said  State  Street  to  South  Carolina ; 

"  We  feel  and  acknowledge  your  laws  are  diviner 
Than  any  promulgated  by  the  thunders  of  Sinai ! 
Sorely  pricked  in  the  sensitive  conscience  of  business 
We  own  and  repent  of  our  sins  of  remissness : 
Our  honor  we  've  yielded,  our  words  we  have  swallowed  ; 
And  quenching  the  lights  which  our  forefathers  followed, 
And  turning  from  graves  by  their  memories  hallowed, 
With  teeth  on  ball-cartridge,  and  finger  on  trigger, 
Reversed  Boston  Notions,  and  sent  back  a  nigger !  " 

"  Get  away  !  "  cried  the  Chivalry,  busy  a-drumming, 

And  fifing  and  drilling,  and  such  Quattle-bumming  ; 
4  With  your  April-fool  slave  hunt !    Just  wait  till  December 

Shall  see  your  new  Senator  stalk  through  the  Chamber, 

And  Puritan  heresy  prove  neither  dumb  nor 

Blind  in  that  pestilent  Anakim,  Sumner !  " 


358  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

thee  to  speak  once  or  twice  in  his  district.1  Your 
relation  and  personal  friendship  alone  would 
justify  it  —  say  in  Cambridge,  or  some  other  large 
town.  Think  of  it,  and  act.  Kantoul  will  unques- 
tionably be  chosen." 

It  is  seldom  that  the  world  has  seen  such  an 
example  of  the  poetic  and  devotional  temperament, 
combined  with  preeminent  political  sagacity  and 
business  judgment,  as  in  the  case  of  Whittier. 
He  was  a  safe  counselor  for  every  emergency. 
The  anti-slavery  movement  needed  just  such  a 
balance  wheel  as  he  proved  to  be.  He  could  work 
without  quarreling  with  any  one  who  was  ear- 
nestly seeking  to  benefit  the  race.  When  he  came 
to  the  parting  of  the  roads,  and  could  not  walk 
with  one  with  whom  he  had  been  in  general  agree- 
ment, he  took  his  own  way  quietly,  bidding  his 
companion  God  speed.  In  every  church  and  in 
every  political  party  he  found  men  he  loved,  and 
he  did  not  insist  upon  their  agreement  with  his 
opinions  on  any  subject  as  a  condition  of  friend- 
ship. He  looked  for  the  best  points  in  the  charac- 
ters of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and 
without  being  blind  to  their  failings  made  the 
most  of  their  fairest  side.  Positive  in  his  own 
convictions,  he  had  the  widest  charity  for  every 
honest  difference  of  opinion  he  encountered.  But 
he  had  no  patience  with  insincerity  and  heartless- 
ness  in  any  form.  With  all  the  indignation  of 
the  Hebrew  prophets,  as  one  has  well  said  of  him, 
he  never  lost  sight  of  that  love  of  God  and  love  of 
man,  which  tempers  even  the  hatred  of  evil. 

1  Sumner  did  not  speak  for  Palfrey,  but  he  wrote  a  letter  of 
earnest  support,  in  which  he  added  a  good  word  for  Rantoul, 


THOREAU'S  "WALDEN"  359 

Many  of  Whittier's  notes  to  Fields  contain 
reference  to  current  events  and  to  the  new  books 
of  other  authors,  as  in  the  following,  —  written 
April  7,  1851  :  "  So  your  Union  tinkers  have 
really  caught  a  '  nigger  '  at  last !  A  very  pretty 
and  refreshing  sight  it  must  have  been  to  Sab- 
bath-going Christians,  yesterday,  —  that  chained 
court-house  of  yours.  And  Bunker  Hill  monu- 
ment looking  down  upon  all.  But  the  matter 
is  too  sad  for  irony.  God  forgive  the  miserable 
politicians  who  gamble  for  office  with  dice  loaded 
with  human  hearts !  Thoreau's  '  Walden '  is 
capital  reading,  but  very  wicked  and  heathenish. 
The  practical  moral  of  it  seems  to  be  that  if  a  man 
is  willing  to  sink  himself  into  a  woodchuck  he  can 
live  as  cheaply  as  that  quadruped ;  but  after  all, 
for  me,  I  prefer  walking  on  two  legs." 

Whenever  friends  of  Mr.  Whittier  were  travel- 
ing in  this  country  or  any  other,  he  followed  them 
in  their  journeys  with  the  keenest  interest,  and 
greatly  enjoyed  such  letters  from  them  as  de- 
scribed the  scenes  through  which  they  were  pass- 
ing. Every  book  of  travel  that  came  in  his  way 
was  thoroughly  read,  and  his  memory  held  accu- 
rate pictures  of  scenery  and  people,  a  fact  that 
must  impress  every  reader  of  his  poetry.  The 
local  coloring  of  those  poems  which  relate  to 
countries  he  never  saw  is  as  faithful  to  the  reality 
as  if  he  had  not  been  compelled  to  rely  upon  the 
eyes  of  others.  We  have  elsewhere  seen  how  his 
friendship  for  Bayard  Taylor  began.  It  was  not 
alone  the  poet  soul  he  recognized,  but  he  enjoyed 
the  charming  stories  of  his  travels,  and  as  he  read 


360  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

"  The  Norseman's  Ride  "  his  imagination  was  led 
into  regions  that  had  great  attractions  for  him. 
A  half  page  of  the  "  Era  "  is  filled  with  a  lively 
review  of  Taylor's  "  Eldorado,"  dealing  especially 
with  the  chapters  concerning  the  new  State  of 
California,  and  concluding  with  this  suggestion  : 
"  In  taking  leave  of  his  volumes,  we  cannot  forbear 
venturing  a  suggestion  to  the  author,  that  he  may 
find  a  field  of  travel,  less  known  and  quite  as  inter- 
esting at  the  present  time,  in  the  vast  Territory  of 
New  Mexico  —  the  valley  of  the  Del  Norte,  with 
its  old  Castilian  and  Aztec  monuments  and  asso- 
ciations ;  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  the  unexplored 
regions  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Colorado,  be- 
tween the  mountain  ranges  of  the  Sierra  Madre 
and  the  Sierra  Nevada.  We  know  of  no  one 
better  fitted  for  such  an  enterprise,  or  for  whom, 
judging  from  the  spirit  of  his  California  narrative, 
it  would  present  more  attractions."  Mr.  Taylor's 
pleasure  at  this  kind  reception  of  his  work  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  letter  from  New  York, 
bearing  date  July  9,  1850  :  — 

"  I  owe  you  a  world  of  thanks  for  your  surpass- 
ing notice   of  '  Eldorado '  in  the  '  National  Era.' 

O 

I  have  read  it  with  the  most  genuine  pleasure,  not 
on  account  of  the  life  it  will  give  to  my  literary 
reputation,  but  because  you  seem  to  have  so  thor- 
oughly appreciated  and  enjoyed  my  work.  I 
care  but  little  for  the  general  praise  or  censure, 
but  I  do  value  that  of  my  friends,  and  if  I  satisfy 
them,  there  is  no  higher  reward.  Would  you  had 
been  with  me  in  California!  I  often  recalled, 
while  there,  those  lines  from  '  The  Crisis '  describ- 


RELATIONS  WITH  BAYARD   TAYLOR    361 

ing  the  scenery  of  our  central  wilderness.  The 
next  trip  you  propose  for  me  is  the  very  one  which 
I  have  often  wished  to  make,  and  if  it  was  not 
time  that  I  should  stop  from  roving,  and  build  up 
a  home  for  myself,  I  would  go  there  next  year.  I 
am  going  to  Boston  next  week,  for  a  few  days,  and 
hope  to  be  able  to  pay  another  flying  visit  to 
Amesbury.  I  have  not  forgotten  the  view  I  had 
from  the  hill-top." 

The  visit  suggested  in  this  note  was  in  a  few 
days  made  in  company  with  James  Kussell  Lowell, 
as  we  find  in  a  letter  Taylor  wrote  to  a  friend, 
dated  July  22,  1850  :  — 

"  Friday  morning  early,  Lowell  and  I  started  for 
Amesbury,  which  we  reached  in  a  terrible  north- 
easter. What  a  capital  time  we  had  with  Whit- 
tier,  in  his  nook  of  a  study,  with  the  rain  pouring 
on  the  roof,  arid  the  wind  howling  at  the  door  !  " 

These  visits  of  Taylor  to  Amesbury  are  referred 
to  in  a  stanza  of  "  The  Last  Walk  in  Autumn : " 

"  Here,  too,  of  answering-  love  secure, 

Ha\  e  I  not  welcomed  to  my  hearth 
The  gentle  pilgrim  troubadour, 

Whose  songs  have  girdled  half  the  earth  ; 
Whose  pages,  like  the  magic  mat 
Whereon  the  Eastern  lover  sat, 
Have  borne  me  over  Rhineland's  purple  vines, 
And  Nubia's  tawny  sands,  and  Phrygians  mountain  pines.'* 

A  meeting  to  express  sympathy  for  Hungary 
was  held  in  Boston,  August  20, 1851,  and  Sumner 
made  a  speech.  On  that  day,  Whittier  wrote  to 
him  :  — 

"  I  wish  I  felt  able  to  take  the  cars  to  Boston 
and  hear  thy  speech  this  evening.  I  was  glad  to 


362  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

hear  of  thy  meeting,  although  I  greatly  fear  it  is 
too  late  to  be  of  any  service  to  poor  Hungary. 
She  will  be  crushed  under  the  avalanche  of 
Russian  barbarism,  and  the  sympathies  and  con- 
gratulations of  the  friends  of  freedom  abroad 
will  be  to  her  '  like  delicates  poured  upon  a  mouth 
shut  up,  or  as  meats  set  upon  a  grave.'  I  wish, 
either  in  resolutions  or  speeches,  the  disgraceful 
conduct  of  the  United  States  Consul  at  Paris  l 
could  be  noticed  as  it  deserves.  Through  him  our 
government  commits  itself  in  favor  of  the  kings 
and  priests  of  Europe  in  their  barbarous  measures 
suppressing  the  growth  of  free  principles.  We 
are  made  parties  to  the  usurpations  of  Bonaparte 
the  Less,  the  bombardment  of  Rome,  the  bloody 
rule  of  Naples,  the  atrocities  of  Austria  and  Russia 
in  Hungary.  The  miserable  fellow  would  be  no- 
thing by  himself,  but  as  an  official  of  our  govern- 
ment he  can  do  a  great  deal  to  disgrace  us.  .  .  . 
The  New  York  conference  ended  as  I  expected, 
after  the  late  elections.  The  South  always  con- 
trives to  control  the  North,  by  throwing  itself  on 
the  Whig  or  Democratic  side,  just  as  these  parties 
are  inclined  towards  abolition.  For  instance,  in 
1839  the  Whigs  talked  anti-slavery  at  the  North. 
The  slaveholders  deserted  their  faithful  allies,  and 
went  over  to  the  abolition  Whig,  and  the  Whigs, 
as  in  duty  bound,  eschewed  abolition.  In  1843— 
44,  they  set  aside  Van  Buren,  and  got  a  place- 
holder nominated  by  the  Democrats,  who  was  for 
Texas  annexation  with  slavery,  and  voted  him  into 

1  Robert  Walsh,  who  was  also  correspondent  of  several  Ameri- 
can journals. 


KOSSUTH  AND  HUNGARY  363 

power.  He  did  his  work,  and  the  Whigs  in  their 
exasperation  again  threatened  to  become  abolition- 
ists ;  and  the  South  silenced  them  by  voting  for 
General  Taylor.  Now,  the  Democrats  are  form- 
ing coalitions  with  the  abolitionists,  and  the  South 
must  change  in  their  favor.  This  is  the  way  that 
the  two  parties  at  the  North  are  managed.  I  have 
been  desirous  to  see  thee  and  others  of  our  Free- 
Soil  friends,  but  have  been  confined  at  home  by 
illness." 

In  the  fall  of  1851,  Sumner  desired  a  continu- 
ance of  the  alliance  with  the  Democrats,  but  many 
men  of  the  Free-Soil  party  were  opposed  to  it. 
He  wrote  to  Whittier  on  the  7th  of  October  : 
"  Will  not  Higginson  see  the  matter  in  a  practical 
light  ?  I  respect  him  so  much,  and  honor  his  prin- 
ciples so  supremely,  that  I  am  pained  to  differ 
from  him  ;  but  I  do  feel  that  we  must  not  neglect 
the  opportunity  afforded  by  alliance  —  not  fusion 
—  with  the  Democrats  to  prevent  the  Whigs  from 
establishing  themselves  in  the  State.  Palfrey  is 
now  earnestly  of  this  inclining ;  so  is  Hopkins ; 
also  Buiiingame, —  and  all  these  stood  out  before." 

In  December,  1851,  Kossuth  arrived  in  this 
country,  and  'from  his  anxiety  to  propitiate  all 
classes  of  our  people  in  favor  of  his  cause,  in  his 
first  speech,  in  New  York,  he  took  pains  to  say 
that  he  did  not  propose  to  interfere  with  our  do- 
mestic institutions.  Whittier  wrote  Sumner  the 
letter  that  follows,  which  is  without  date,  but  its 
contents  show  that  it  was  written  early  in  Decem- 
ber, 1851 :  — 

"  On  thy  way   to  Washington  pray  see  W.  C. 


364  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

Bryant,  Seward,  and  some  other  leading  men,  — 
Greeley,  for  instance  —  and  caution  them  to  see  to 
it  that  the  4  Union  savers '  do  not  thrust  their  no- 
tions upon  Kossuth,  and  call  out  from  him  speeches 
of  the  Castle  Garden  stamp.  Naturally  he  would 
deprecate  a  dissolution  of  this  Union  —  but  he 
ought  to  understand  that  it  is  not  in  the  slightest 
jeopardy  —  that  the  solicitude  of  the  '  Union 
savers '  is  all  for  political  effect.  I  wish  he  could 
have  a  half  hour's  talk  with  Benton.  I  do  not 
wish  him  to  be  mixed  up  in  any  way  with  our  do- 
mestic matters.  He  has  his  mission ;  we  ours. 
I  hope  thou  wilt  see  the. great  Hungarian's  recep- 
tion in  New  York,  and  take  part  in  it.  I  have  just 
finished  reading  his  English  speeches,  and  I  am 
deeply  impressed  by  his  wisdom  and  ability.  God 
bless  thee,  my  friend,  in  thy  new  and  difficult, 
but  glorious  position." 

Sumner  was  nine  months  in  the  Senate  before 
he  found  an  opportunity  to  make  a  speech  on 
the  great  issue  upon  which  he  was  elected.  There 
was  a  conspiracy  among  the  Senators  of  both  par- 
ties to  prevent  any  chance  being  offered  him. 
Whittier  refers  to  this  in  the  following  letter :  — 

"  I  am  by  no  means  surprised  afr  the  refusal  of 
the  Senate  to  hear  thee.  It  is  simply  carrying  out 
the  resolutions  of  the  two  Baltimore  conventions. 
Never  mind.  The  right  time  will  come  for  thee, 
if  not  this  session,  the  next  certainly.  I  think  our 
proper  place  for  speaking  now  is  to  the  people 
directly,  rather  than  to  Congress.  I  want  thee  to 
put  on  thy  harness  this  fall  and  do  battle  as  in  '48. 
.  .  .  The  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Robert 


CORRESPONDENCE   WITH  SUMNER     365 

Rantoul 1  has  just  reached  me.  I  have  lost  an  old 
and  valued  friend,  and  the  State  and  country  a 
noble  man.  How  little  did  I  expect  to  outlive 
him.  I  have  just  read  thy  tribute  to  him.  It  is 
a  relief  to  me  to  hear  the  right  words  spoken  of 
my  friend." 

Mr.  Sumner's  reply  to  this  letter  was  written  in 
the  Senate  Chamber,  August  13,  1852:  — 

"  I  am  grateful  for  your  words  of  cheer  and 
confidence.  I  have  never  desired  to  come  here,  as 
you  well  know.  Since  I  have  been  here,  our  cause 
has  never  been  out  of  my  mind.  In  the  exercise 
of  my  best  discretion  I  have  postponed  speaking 
until  now.  To  this  course  I  was  advised  by  friends 
also.  Should  I  not  succeed  before  the  close  of  the 
session,  I  shall  feel  sad ;  but  I  cannot  feel  that  I 
have  failed  in  a  duty.  But  I  shall  speak  on  an 
amendment  of  the  Civil  Appropriation  Bill.  Thus 
far,  whenever  I  have  spoken  I  have  been  listened 
to.  On  this  occasion  I  may  not  have  the  atten- 
tion ;  but  the  speech  shall  be  made.  For  a  long 
time  I  have  been  prepared  to  handle  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Bill  at  length.  By  the  blessing  of  God  it 
shall  be  done.  .  .  .  With  you  I  deplore  Rantoul. 
I  pray  you  read  my  remarks  as  corrected  in  the 
'National  Era.'  ...  I  cannot  make  any  lyceum 
engagements  for  the  coming  season,  and  I  shrink 
from  the  political  labors  to  which  you  beckon  me. 
I  have  been  in  my  seat  every  day  this  session. 
I  long  for  repose  and  an  opportunity  for  quiet 
labors,  But  more  than  all  things  I  long  to  declare 

1  Rooert  Rantoul  died  at  Washington,  August  7,  1852,  while 
representing  the  Essex  district  in  Congress. 


366  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

myself  here  against  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill.  Then 
I  shall  be  happy  for  a  while.  At  this  moment  I 
can  say  nothing.  My  ship  is  in  a  terrible  calm, 
like  that  of  the  Ancient  Mariner.  But  it  will 
move  yet.  ...  I  notice  the  withdrawal  of  con- 
fidence from  me.  Well-a-day !  I  never  courted  it. 
I  will  be  content  without  it.  But  I  shall  claim 
yours." 

TO  RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON. 

AMESBUKY,  21st  10th  mo.,  1853. 

What  marvelous  weather  !  Amidst  the  autum- 
nal opulence  of  the  last  two  weeks,  I  have  lived 
more  than  royally.  How  poor  and  mean  in  com- 
parison seem  all  the  pomps  and  shows  of  kings  and 
priests  !  And  what  folly  to  run  abroad  over  the 
Old  World,  when  all  that  is  beautiful  may  be  seen 
from  our  own  door-stone  !  Munich,  the  Louvre, 
and  the  Vatican  are  doubtless  well  worth  seeing, 
but  I  fancy  I  see  all  and  much  more  in  my  own 
painted  woodlands.  At  any  rate,  I  am  satisfied. 
Oh,  that  I  could  put  into  words  the  hymn  of  grati- 
tude and  unspeakable  love  which  at  such  a  season 
as  this  is  sung  in  my  heart.  I  wish  thee  could 
have  been  with  us  the  other  day  on  the  Merri- 
mac.  We  wanted  an  interpreter  of  the  mystery 
of  the  glory  about  us. 

When  Taylor  returned  from  Africa,  Japan,  and 
China,  in  1853,  he  received  from  his  Amesbury 
friend  this  greeting  :  — 

"  Give  me  thy  hand  !  Welcome  home  again,  and 
a  happy  New  Year  to  thee !  We  are  fellow  trav- 
elers. I  have  followed  thee  all  the  way  over  the 


THE  AMESBURY  LYCEUM  367 

world,  without  any  share  of  thy  expenses,  trouble, 
or  fatigue.  I  wish,  though,  we  could  have  reached 
the  snowy  African  mountains.  Thou  wast  there, 
in  spirit,  however,  beyond  doubt,  as  thy  splendid 
poem  testifies.  But  to  the  point :  Canst  thou  not 
steal  away  a  day  or  two,  —  see  Whipple,  Samuel 
Longfellow,  and  Fields,  —  run  up  and  spend  the 
night  with  me,  and  talk  an  hour  or  so  to  our 
lyceum  on  what  thee  saw  in  Africa  and  Japan? 
Don't  refuse  —  there  is  no  need  of  a  formal  lec- 
ture —  our  folks  only  want  to  see  thee  and  hear 
thee  talk  a  little.  Don't  rank  this  with  a  thou- 
sand and  one  other  applications  —  but  drop  me  a 
line  and  say  yes.  Say  a  good  word  for  Phoebe 
Gary's  poem,  and  Mrs.  Howe's  memorable  4  Pas- 
sion Flowers,'  just  out  from  Ticknor's." 

The  Amesbury  Lyceum  secured  many  a  first- 
rate  lecturer  it  could  not  otherwise  have  obtained, 
by  such  an  application  as  this  from  Whittier. 
As  for  himself,  he  never  attended  an  evening  lec- 
ture, even  when  Beecher  and  Phillips  went  from 
his  tea-table  to  the  platform.  The  great  orators 
would  come  to  this  little  village  to  meet  their 
friend  and  enjoy  his  hospitality. 

"For  Righteousness'  Sake,"  originally  entitled 
"  Lines  inscribed  to  Friends  under  Arrest  for  Trea- 
son against  the  Slave  Power,"  was  written  in  the 
winter  of  1854-55,  when  Theodore  Parker,  with 
others,  was  indicted  in  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court  in  Boston,  for  resisting  the  process  for  the 
rendition  of  the  fugitive  slave,  Anthony  Burns, 
the  alleged  act  of  resistance  in  Parker's  case  being 
a  speech  he  had  delivered  in  Faneuil  Hall. 


368  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

The  poem  now  known  as  "  The  Rendition,"  orig- 
inally published  in  the  "  Era  "  in  1854,  was  then 
entitled  "  Ichabod,"  the  same  title  given  four  years 
earlier  to  the  famous  philippic  upon  Webster. 
Many  of  the  titles  of  Whittier's  poems  were  thus 
duplicated,  and  even  triplicated,  as  in  the  case  of 
"  Stanzas  for  the  Times."  The  name  Ichabod 
seemed  to  have  a  fascination  for  him.  Several  of 
his  early  poems,  published  while  in  the  Academy, 
had  it  for  signature. 

"  Maud  Muller "  was  first  published  in  the 
"National  Era"  in  1854.  Whittier  sent  this 
note  to  the  printer,  with  his  manuscript :  "  The 
term  '  chimney  lug '  which  occurs  in  this  poem 
refers  to  the  old  custom  in  New  England  of  hang- 
ing a  pole  with  hooks  attached  to  it  down  the 
chimney,  to  hang  pots  and  kettles  on.  It  is  called 
a  '  lug-pole.'  I  mention  this  for  fear  the  word 
would  not  be  understood,  and  taken  by  the  printers 
for  something  else." 

To  a  correspondent  who  asked  of  him  the  pro- 
nunciation of  "  Muller  ;"  about  the  word  "  but  "  in 
the  nineteenth  couplet  of  the  poem  ;  and  the  mean- 
ing of  one  of  the  last  couplets,  Mr.  Whittier  re- 
plied :  "  I  don't  think  4  Maud  Muller '  worth  seri- 
ous analysis,  but  in  answer  to  thy  questions  I 
would  say:  1.  Pronounce  the  name  with  either 
the  Yankee  or  the  German  accent  —  it  matters  not 
which.  [He  always  pronounced  the  u  as  in  gull.] 
2.  '  But '  should  have  been  4  And.'  4  For  all  of  us 
a  sweet  hope  lies '  is  the  prose  version." 

The  following  passage  occurs  in  a  letter  written 
to  Fields  in  1854 :  "  I  met  Holmes  for  the  first 


"LITERARY  RECREATIONS"          369 

time  at  Haverhill  the  other  night.  There  is  rare 
humor  in  him,  and  I  like  him.  I  inclose  thee 
a  jingle  of  mine  —  not  published  —  and  therefore 
only  for  thy  private  reading.  It  is  one  of  those 
pieces  that  make  themselves,  and  come  to  you  un- 
called for.  My  '  Singletary  Papers '  still  drag 
their  slow  length  along."  The  "  jingle  "  was 
"  Official  Piety." 

In  1854,  Messrs.  Ticknor  &  Fields  published  a 
collection  of  Mr.  Whittier's  prose  essays  under  the 
title  of  "  Literary  Recreations,"  most  of  the  arti- 
cles in  which  were  copied  from  his  contributions  to 
the  "  National  Era." 

Mr.  Sumner  was  at  last  heard  in  the  Senate 
upon  themes  that  aroused  him  to  his  best  oratori- 
cal efforts.  The  speeches  made  in  the  summer  of 
1854,  upon  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  questions, 
are  referred  to  by  Mr.  Whittier  in  the  letter  here 
given :  — 

"  I  will  not  trouble  thee  with  a  long  letter :  but 
I  cannot  forbear  to  thank  thee,  in  the  name  of 
humanity,  and  our  dear  old  Commonwealth,  for 
thy  late  noble  efforts.  I  have  never  seen  such  an 
effect  produced  by  any  speech  in  Congress  before. 
Everybody  has  read  the  newspaper  reports  of  the 
encounter,  and  everybody,  save  a  few  desperate 
office-holders,  commends  thy  course  in  terms  of 
warm  admiration.  Thy  first  speech  on  the  Ne- 
braska crime  was  everywhere  commended.  Indeed, 
all  things  considered,  I  think  it  the  best  speech  of 
the  session.  It  was  the  fitting  word  —  it  entirely 
satisfied  me,  and  with  a  glow  of  heart  I  thank  God 
that  its  author  was  my  friend.  .  .  .  What  a  pity 


370  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

could  not  see  the  path  clear  before  him  to 

stand  forward  at  this  crisis,  and  bring  his  party  up 
to  the  desired  point!  It  has  occurred  to  me  that 
a  letter  from  thee  —  kind,  generous,  and  earnest 
—  might  move  him.  However,  I  only  throw  out 
the  hint;  there  may  be  good  reasons  against  it. 
Just  now,  the  people  of  Massachusetts  will  hear 
and  indeed  approve  of  almost  anything  against 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  One  more  Burns  case 
would  make  Hunkerism  an  unsafe  commodity  in 
any  part  of  the  State." 


TO  LUCY  LARCOM. 

1855. 

Elizabeth  has  been  reading  Browning's  poem 
("  Men  and  Women"),  and  she  tells  me  it  is  great. 
I  have  only  dipped  into  it,  here  and  there,  but  it 
is  not  exactly  comfortable  reading.  It  seemed  to 
me  like  a  galvanic  battery  in  full  play  —  its  spas- 
modic utterances  and  intense  passion  make  me 
feel  as  if  I  had  been  taking  a  bath  among  electric 
eels.  But  I  have  not  read  enough  to  criticise. 

The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  added 
to  the  irritation  at  the  North  caused  by  frequent 
slave  hunts  in  communities  that  had  no  patience 
with  them.  The  determination  to  colonize  Kansas 
with  men  who  would  make  it  a  free  State  grew 
out  of  this  repeal,  and  it  was  Whittier  again  who 
spoke  for  the  North,  with  a  voice  heard  farther  at 
the  time  than  the  speech  of  any  orator,  and  which 
will  not  be  silent  while  our  language  endures, 
In  a  brilliant  magazine  article,1  Hon.  James  J. 
1  In  Harper's  Monthly,  April,  1893. 


COLONIZATION  OF  KANSAS  871 

Ingalls  has  given  a  spirited  account  of  the  efforts 
made  to  colonize  Kansas  with  free  labor,  so  as  to 
secure  by  popular  vote  the  exclusion  of  slavery 
hitherto  effected  by  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
After  referring  to  the  appeals  of  the  Northern 
press,  he  adds  :  — 

"  The  journalists  were  reinforced  by  the  poets, 
artists,  novelists,  and  orators  of  an  age  distin- 
guished for  genius,  learning,  and  inspiration. 
Lincoln,  Douglas,  Seward,  and  Sumner  delivered 
their  most  memorable  speeches  upon  the  theme. 
Phillips  and  Beecher,  then  at  the  meridian  of 
their  powers,  appealed  to  the  passions  and  the  con- 
science of  the  nation  by  unrivaled  eloquence  and 
invective.  Prizes  were  offered  for  lyrics,  that 
were  obtained,  so  profound  was  the  impulse,  by 
obscure  and  unknown  competitors.  Lowell,  Bry- 
ant, Holmes,  Longfellow,  and  Emerson  lent  the 
magic  of  their  verse.  Whittier  was  the  laureate 
of  the  era.  His  '  Burial  of  Barbour '  and 
4  Marais  du  Cygne '  seemed  like  a  prophet's  cry 
for  vengeance  to  the  immigrants,  who  marched  to 
the  inspiring  strains  of  '  Suoni  la  Tromba,'  or 
chanted  to  the  measure  of  '  Auld  Lang  Syne,' 

"  '  We  crossed  the  prairies,  as  of  old 
Our  fathers  crossed  the  sea.' 

The  contagion  spread  to  foreign  lands,  and  alien 
torches  were  lighted  at  the  flame.  Walter  Savage 
Landor  wrote  an  ode  to  free  Kansas.  Lady  Byron 
collected  money  which  she  sent  to  the  author  of 
4  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin '  for  the  relief  of  the  suffer- 
ers in  Kansas.  Volunteers  from  Italy,  France, 
and  Germany,  revolutionists  and  exiles,  served  in 


372  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

the  desultory  war,  many  of  whom  afterwards 
fought  with  distinction  in  the  armies  of  the  Union. 
It  was  the  romance  of  history.  The  indescribable 
agitation  which  always  attends  the  introduction  of 
a  great  moral  question  into  politics  pervaded  the 
souls  of  men,  transforming  the  commonplace  into 
ideal,  and  inaugurating  a  heroic  epoch.  The 
raptures  that  swelled  the  hearts  of  the  pioneers 
yet  thrill  and  vibrate  in  the  blood  of  their  pos- 
terity, like  the  chords  of  a  smitten  harp  when  the 
player  has  departed." 

When  bands  of  ruffians  from  Missouri  crossed 
the  border  and  committed  atrocious  barbarities 
upon  these  anti-slavery  pioneers,  a  mighty  wave  of 
indignation  stirred  the  whole  North,  and  Whittier 
gave  voice  to  it  in  his  poem  "  Le  Marais  du 
Cygne."  Some  of  the  details  of  the  massacre  of 
Swan's  Marsh  will  explain  to  younger  readers  who 
have  no  memory  of  these  stirring  times  the  rea- 
son of  the  deep  feeling  displayed  in  this  poem. 
"  Chouteau's  Trading  Post,"  as  it  was  called  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre,  is  on  the  old  military 
road,  now  disused,  from  Fort  Leaven  worth  to  Fort 
Scott,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Marais  du  Cygne 
River,  three  miles  from  the  Missouri  line.  On  the 
morning  of  May  19,  the  settlers  at  the  Post  were 
engaged  in  their  usual  pursuits,  unarmed,  and 
without  thought  of  danger.  A  band  of  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  Missourians,  mounted,  and  under 
command  of  Captain  Charles  A.  Hamilton,  crossed 
the  border,  and  captured  twelve  men,  several  of 
them  the  heads  of  families.  They  were  bound  and 
taken  to  a  ravine,  where  they  were  placed  in  line, 


"LE  MARAIS  DU  CYGNE"  373 

and  fired  upon  at  close  range.  Five  were  killed, 
and  all  the  others  wounded,  except  one.  He  fell 
with  the  others,  feigned  death,  and  escaped  injury. 
All  the  wounded  recovered,  and  some  of  them  be- 
came influential  citizens  in  the  free  State  they  had 
helped  to  found.  Whittier's  verses  were  written 
while  the  soil  was  yet  red  with  the  blood  of  the 
victims.  The  last  stanza  proved  prophetical :  —  , 

"  On  the  lintels  of  Kansas 

That  blood  shall  not  dry  ; 
Henceforth  the  Bad  Angel 

Shall  harmless  go  by ; 
Henceforth  to  the  sunset, 

Unchecked  on  her  way, 
Shall  Liberty  follow 

The  march  of  the  day." 

The  assassins  were  well-known  Missourians,  not 
disguised.  Only  one  was  arrested  that  year,  and 
he  escaped.  But  in  1863,  while  the  civil  war  was 
in  progress,  another  of  the  murderers  was  captured 
and  hanged.  One  of  the  wounded  men  acted  as 
his  executioner. 

As  Whittier  watched  the  progress  of  the  cause 
of  liberty,  and  recognized  the  surety  of  its  triumph, 
he  became  less  impatient  of  the  wrongs  which  were 
so  surely  to  be  overruled  for  good,  and  returned 
less  frequently  to  the  theme  that  in  former  days 
aroused  his  righteous  wrath,  and  nerved  him  to  the 
utterance  of  his  passionate  "  Voices  of  Freedom." 

In  July,  1854,  he  was  invited  by  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson  and  others  to  join  them  at  a  meeting  in 
Boston,  called  to  consider  the  political  situation, 
and  to  devise  a  way  to  bring  together  the  men  of 
all  parties  who  were  opposed  to  the  encroachments 


374  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

of  slavery.     His  reply  is  dated  Amesbury,  3d  7th 
mo.,  and  is  addressed  to  Mr.  Emerson :  — 

"  The  circular  signed  by  thyself  and  others,  in- 
viting me  to  meet  you  at  Boston  on  the  7th  inst., 
has  just  reached  me.  If  I  am  able  to  visit  Boston 
on  that  day  I  shall  be  glad  to  comply  with  the 
invitation.  Your  movement  I  regard  as  every  way 
timely  and  expedient.  I  am  quite  sure  good  will 
come  of  it,  in  some  way.  I  have  been  for  some 
time  past  engaged  in  efforts  tending  to  the  same 
object,  —  the  consolidation  of  the  anti-slavery  sen- 
timent of  the  North.  For  myself,  I  am  more  than 
willing  to  take  the  humblest  place  in  a  new  organ- 
ization made  up  from  Whigs,  anti-Nebraska  Dem- 
ocrats, and  Free-Soilers.  I  care  nothing  for 
names ;  I  have  no  prejudices  against  Whig  or 
Democrat ;  show  me  a  party  cutting  itself  loose 
from  slavery,  repudiating  its  treacherous  professed 
allies  of  the  South,  and  making  the  protection  of 
Man  the  paramount  object,  and  I  am  ready  to  go 
with  it,  heart  and  soul.  The  great  body  of  the 
people  of  all  parties  here  are  ready  to  unite  in  the 
formation  of  a  new  party.  The  Whigs  especially 
only  wait  for  the  movement  of  the  men  to  whom 
they  have  been  accustomed  to  look  for  direction. 
I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  fully  believe  that  Robert 
C.  Winthrop  holds  in  his  hands  the  destiny  of 
the  North.  By  throwing  himself  on  the  side  of 
this  movement  he  could  carry  with  him  the  Whig 
strength  of  New  England.  The  Democrats  here, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  office-holders 
and  their  dependents,  defend  the  course  of  Banks, 
and  applaud  the  manly  speeches  of  Sumner." 


"THE  PANORAMA"  375 

"  The  Panorama  "  was  written  by  Mr.  Whittier, 
to  be  read  at  the  opening  of  a  course  of  lectures 
on  slavery,  delivered  in  Tremont  Temple,  Boston, 
during  the  winter  of  1855-56.  The  plan  of  this 
course  provided  that  both  sides  of  the  question 
should  be  given,  and  leading  Southern  statesmen 
were  invited  to  alternate  with  eminent  Northern 
philanthropists  in  presenting  their  views.  Among 
the  men  not  in  sympathy  with  the  anti-slavery 
movement  who  were  asked  to  speak  from  this 
platform  were  Henry  W.  Milliard  of  Alabama,  A. 
P.  Butler  of  South  Carolina,  Wm.  A.  Smith  of 
Virginia,  Robert  Toombs  of  Georgia,  David  R. 
Atchison  of  Missouri,  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of 
Illinois.  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe  was  chairman  of 
the  lecture  committee.  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
was  invited  to  give  one  of  the  lectures,  but  he  de- 
clined, not  being  in  sympathy  with  the  manage- 
ment. The  first  lecture  in  the  course  was  an- 
nounced as  to  be  given  November  22,  1855,  by 
Horace  Mann,  to  be  followed  by  a  poem  by  John 
G.  Whittier.  Mr.  Whittier  asked  Rev.  Thomas 
Starr  King  to  read  his  poem,  and  gave  him  the 
manuscript  of  "  The  Panorama."  The  following 
letter  by  Mr.  King,  written  November  30,  1855, 
and  found  among  Mr.  Whittier's  papers,  gives 
some  idea  of  the  enthusiastic  spirit  with  which  he 
performed  the  task  assigned  him.  The  reading 
occupied  forty  minutes.  Charles  Sumner  was 
upon  the  platform,  and  the  reference  to  his  name 
and  "  fresh  renown  "  in  the  poem  was  greeted  with 
much  applause :  — 

"  I  have  hardly  been  in  Boston  since  the  even- 


876  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

ing  when  my  voice  was  honored,  as  never  before, 
in  being  the  medium  of  your  genius.  I  beg  you 
therefore  to  accept  this  fact  as  an  explanation  of 
the  delay  in  sending  you  my  thanks  for  the  com- 
pliment you  paid  me  in  asking  my  poor  service  as 
your  interpreter.  The  poem  is  admirably  adapted 
to  lecture  utterance.  It  is  so  broad  in  its  plan,  so 
vivid,  so  stirring,  so  practical  in  its  appeal,  that  it 
needs  two  thousand  ears,  and  the  wide  atmosphere 
of  the  public  heart,  to  allow  the  proportions  of  its 
power  to  appear,  and  its  eloquence  to  find  sea  room 
to  disport  itself.  I  have  heard  the  heartiest  en- 
comiums of  it,  even  from  men  not  specially  inter- 
ested in  the  anti-slavery  cause,  who  were  swept  by 
it.  Inadequate  as  the  reading  was,  I  am  suspi- 
cious that  the  soul  of  the  piece  possessed  my  voice, 
and  lifted  it  above  its  natural  poverty.  If  possible, 
I  shall  read  it  in  Worcester,  some  time  during  the 
week.  Would  that  Mrs.  Webb  might  give  it 
wings !  Though  I  think  it  needs  a  man's  throat 
and  passion.  I  have  been  invited  to  read  it  in 
Manchester,  but  could  not  go.  I  shall  mention 
this  fact  to  Dr.  Stone  when  I  see  him.  God  bless 
you,  my  dear  friend,  and  preserve  you  for  many 
such  TyrtaBan  songs.  I  thank  you,  and  remain 
cordially  yours." 

The  allusion  to  Mrs.  M.  E.  Webb  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  she  was  to  read  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe's  drama  the  next  evening  in  the  course. 
She  was  a  colored  dramatic  reader. 

"  The  Panorama  "  was  written  with  a  view  to 
political  effect  in  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1856,  and  Mr.  Whittier  desired  it  to  be  published 


«  THE  PANORAMA  "  377 

at  once,  as  a  book.  Mr.  Fields  suggested  that  it 
was  so  late  that  it  could  not  appear  until  after 
the  holiday  season,  and  had  better  be  postponed 
until  the  next  fall.  Whittier  made  reply  in  a 
letter  dated  January  6,  1856.  The  poem  to  which 
he  referred  as  being  in  manuscript  was  either 
"  The  Barefoot  Boy,"  or  "  The  Ranger,"  which  was 
originally  named  "  Martha  Mason,  a  Song  of  the 
Old  French  War ;  "  or  possibly  it  might  have  been 
"Mary  Garvin,"  which  was  published  in  the 
"  National  Era  "  in  the  month  of  January,  1856. 
These  three  poems  were  in  manuscript  at  about 
this  time. 

"The  wisdom  of  thy  suggestion  is  very  manifest. 
I  have  only  one  objection  to  it.  '  The  Panorama ' 
is  a  poem  for  the  present  time  ;  it  is  like  Pierce's 
Message  —  it  won't  keep.  But  if  it  could  be  put 
at  once  through  the  press,  with  the  other  poems,  it 
would  answer  my  purpose.  Now,  if  you  have  no- 
thing better  to  do,  just  inform  me,  and  you  shall 
have  the  other  pieces  at  once,  as  I  have  them,  for  a 
wonder,  at  hand,  including  one  in  MS.  which  I  like 
better  than  c  Maud  Muller.'  But  I  don't  think 
much  of  my  own  judgment  in  such  matters,  and  it 
may  be  a  very  poor  affair  in  reality." 

In  compliance  with  this  request  the  book  was 
put  to  press  at  once,  and  among  the  poems  and 
ballads  with  which  it  was  enriched  were  "A 
Memory,"  "  Maud  Muller,"  "  Mary  Garvin,"  "  The 
Ranger,"  "  Summer  by  the  Lakeside,"  "  Burns," 
"  Tauler,"  "The  Barefoot  Boy,"  and  "  The  Kansas 
Emigrants."  The  proof  sheets  came  to  Amesbury 
in  the  winter,  and  the  poet  was  not  in  the  mood  to 
make  so  many  changes  as  usual.  He  wrote :  — 


378  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

"  I  should  perhaps  make  some  other  changes  in 
the  poem  —  but  brain  and  hand  are  numb  with 
frost.  Whatever  poetical  fancies  garnered  up  in 
more  genial  weather  may  be  left  within  me,  they 
are  frozen  up  before  reaching  my  finger-tips,  like 
the  tunes  in  Munchausen's  horn,  and  I  cannot, 
like  the  veracious  hunter,  get  up  a  fire  sufficient  to 
thaw  them  out." 

The  origin  of  the  poem  "  A  Memory  "  is  given 
in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
Mrs.  Mary  Rogers  Kimball,  daughter  of  Whittier's 
early  and  dear  friend,  N.  P.  Rogers :  — 

"  We  all  loved  Mr.  Whittier,  and  before  we  left 
our  home  near  Plymouth,  N.  H.,  for  the  West,  in 
1853,  I  think,  he  spent  a  week  with  us.  With 
what  delight  we  wandered,  talked,  read,  and 
played  with  him !  We  sang  to  him ;  and  of  all 
the  songs,  English,  Scotch,  or  Irish,  he  loved  the 
negro  melodies  best.  How  well  I  remember  his 
creeping  softly  behind  me  and  shaking  into  my 
neck  the  dew  from  a  branch  of  cinnamon  rose  he 
had  picked  and  carried  a  long  distance  that  early 
morning,  '  for  this  express  purpose,'  as  he  said.  I 
cherished  the  precious  twig  for  many  years.  .  .  . 
The  little  poem  entitled  '  A  Memory '  was  of  my 
next  older  sister,  Ellen,  who  was  spending  a  few 
days  with  friends  at  Wolf  borough,  N.  H.  She 
was  a  singer,  and  one  evening  the  poet  wrapped  a  * 
white  shawl  about  her,  and  put  a  Quaker  bonnet 
on  her  head,  and  made  her  sing  through  the  long 
twilight  the  songs  he  loved.  The  little  event  is 
immortalized;  the  Singer  and  the  Poet  have 
4  passed  on.' " 


LETTER    TO  OLIVIA   BOWDITCH       379 

When  "  Mary  Garvin "  was  published  in  the 
"  Era"  in  1856,  Mr.  Whittier  received  a  pleasant 
letter  from  his  friend  Dr.  H.  I.  Bowditch,  inclos- 
ing one  from  his  young  daughter  Olivia,  then  not 
old  enough  to  write,  but  who  printed  a  letter  in 
childish  fashion.  She  had  taken  much  pleasure 
in  hearing  the  poem  read  by  her  father,  and  wished 
to  send  her  thanks.  This  is  Mr.  Whittier's  reply 
to  the  child's  note,  dated  Amesbury,  28th  1st  mo., 
1856:  — 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  OLIVIA,  —  I  thank  thee  for 
thy  kind  note  ;  and  am  sure  some  good  angel  bade 
thee  write  it.  I  was  very  glad  to  know  that  my 
"  Mary  Garvin "  gave  thee  so  much  pleasure.  I 
know  of  no  better  way  of  being  happy  than  in 
making  others  so.  And  then  too,  as  an  author,  I 
was  gratified  by  thy  praise  of  my  verses,  because 
I  was  sure  it  was  the  honest  expression  of  thy  feel- 
ing. I  remember  that  after  Bernardin  St.  Pierre 
had  written  his  beautiful  story  of  "  Paul  and  Vir- 
ginia" (which  I  hope  thou  hp^st  not  read  yet,  be- 
cause in  that  case  there  is  so  much  more  pleasure 
in  store  for  thee),  he  was  afraid  it  was  not  good 
enough  for  publication,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
laying  it  aside,  when  he  chanced  to  read  it  to  a 
group  of  children,  whose  evident  delight  and  tear- 
ful sympathy  encouraged  him  to  print  it,  and  thus 
please  and  sadden  the  hearts  of  young  and  old 
from  that  time  to  this.  Following  St.  Pierre's  ex- 
ample, I  think  I  shall  print  "  Mary  Garvin  "  in  a 
book  with  some  other  pieces.  If  my  young  critics 
are  pleased  I  can  well  afford  to  let  the  older  ones 


380  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

find  fault.  I  thank  thee  and  thy  dear  father  and 
mother  for  the  invitation,  and  hope  I  shall  be  able 
to  accept  it  when  spring  brings  back  the  green 
grass,  the  bright  flowers,  and  these  wintry  drifts 
are  only  a  memory. 

Mr.  Whittier's  interest  in  the  movement  for 
woman  suffrage  is  shown  in  this  letter  to  a  Wo- 
man's Rights  Convention,  held  in  Worcester :  — 

"  Come  what  may,  Nature  is  inexorable  ;  she  will 
reverse  none  of  her  laws  at  the  bidding  of  male  or 
female  conventions  ;  and  men  and  women,  with  or 
without  the  right  of  suffrage,  will  continue  to  be 
men  and  women  still.  In  the  event  of  the  repeal 
of  certain  ungenerous,  not  to  say  unmanly,  enact- 
ments, limiting  and  abridging  the  rights  and  priv- 
ileges of  women,  we  may  safely  confide  in  the 
adaptive  powers  of  Nature.  She  will  take  care  of 
the  new  fact  in  her  own  way,  and  reconcile  it  to 
the  old,  through  the  operation  of  her  attractive  or 
repellent  forces.  Let  us,  then,  not  be  afraid  to 
listen  to  the  claims  and  demands  of  those  who,  in 
some  sort  at  least,  represent  the  feelings  and  inter- 
ests of  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  us.  Let  Oliver 
ask  for  more.  It  is  scarcely  consistent  with  our 
assumed  superiority  to  imitate  the  horror  and 
wide-orbed  consternation  of  Mr.  Bumble  and  his 
parochial  associates,  on  a  similar  occasion." 

On  the  23d  day  of  May,  1856,  Sumner  was 
struck  down  in  the  Senate  chamber,  by  Preston  S. 
Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  for  words  uttered  in 
debate.  This  is  the  letter  Whittier  wrote  to  him 
when  he  learned  that  his  injuries  were  not  likely 
to  deprive  him  of  life  :  — 


THE  ASSAULT  ON  SUMNER  381 

"  I  have  been  longing  to  write  to  thee,  or  rather 
to  see  thee  (if  I  had  strength  I  should  now  be  in 
Washington)  for  the  last  fortnight.  God  knows 
my  heart  has  been  with  thee,  through  thy  season 
of  trial  and  suffering ;  and  now  it  is  full  of  grati- 
tude and  joy  that  thy  life  has  been  spared  to  us 
and  to  Freedom.  I  have  read  and  reread  thy 
speech,  and  I  look  upon  it  as  thy  best.  A  grand 
and  terrible  philippic,  worthy  of  the  great  occa- 
sion, —  the  severe  and  awful  Truth  which  the  sharp 
agony  of  the  national  crisis  demanded.  It  is 
enough  for  immortality.  So  far  as  thy  own  repu- 
tation is  concerned,  nothing  more  is  needed.  But 
this  is  of  small  importance.  We  cannot  see  as  yet 
the  entire  results  of  that  speech,  but  everything 
now  indicates  that  it  has  saved  the  country.  If 
at  the  coming  election  a  Free  State  President  is 
secured  it  will  be  solely  through  the  influence  of 
that  speech,  and  the  mad  fury  which  its  unanswer- 
able logic  and  fearless  exposure  of  official  crimi- 
nals provoked.  Thank  God,  then,  dear  Sumner, 
even  in  thy  sufferings,  that  He  has  '  made  the 
wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him,  and  that  the  re- 
mainder of  wrath  He  will  restrain.'  My  heart  is 
full  and  I  have  much  to  say ;  but  I  will  not  weary 
thee  with  words.  Permit  me  a  word  of  caution. 
Do  not  try  to  go  back  to  thy  senatorial  duties  this 
session.  Avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  all  excitement ; 
get  out  of  Washington  as  soon  as  thee  is  able  to 
travel.  I  almost  dread  to  have  thee  come  North, 
the  feelings  of  all  classes  of  our  people  are  so 
wrought  up ;  they  so  long  to  manifest  to  thee  their 
love  and  admiration  that  I  fear  we  should  retard 


382  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

thy  recovery  by  our  demonstrations.  Thy  brother 
George  must  take  care  of  thee,  and  prevent  thy 
being  '  killed  by  kindness  ' !  My  mother  and 
sister  join  me  in  love  to  thee.  And  now,  dear 
Sumner,  I  can  only  say,  Heaven  bless  and  preserve 
thee." 

The  intensity  of  Mr.  Whittier's  feeling  in  re- 
gard to  the  outrage  upon  Mr.  Sumner  is  shown  in 
the  following  letter  of  his,  read  at  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  Amesbury  and  Salisbury,  held  on  the 
2d  of  June,  1856  :  — 

"  Fearing  I  may  not  be  able  to  attend  the  meet- 
ing this  evening,  I  beg  leave  to  say  a  word  to  my 
fellow-citizens.  I  need  not  say  how  fully  I  sympa- 
thize with  the  object  of  the  meeting,  nor  speak  of 
my  grief  for  the  sufferings  and  danger  of  a  beloved 
friend,  now  nearer  and  dearer  than  ever,  stricken 
down  at  his  post  of  duty,  for  his  manly  defense  of 
freedom  ;  nor  of  my  mingled  pity,  horror,  and  in- 
dignation in  view  of  the  atrocities  in  Kansas.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  no  time  for  the  indulgence  of 
mere  emotions.  Neither  railing  nor  threats  befit 
the  occasion.  It  is  our  first  duty  to  inquire,  why 
it  is  that  the  bad  men  in  power  have  been  em- 
boldened to  commit  the  outrages  of  which  we  com- 
plain. Why  is  it  that  the  South  has  dared  to 
make  such  experiments  upon  us  ?  The  North  is 
not  united  for  freedom,  as  the  South  is  for  slavery. 
We  are  split  into  factions,  we  get  up  paltry  side 
issues,  and  quarrel  with  and  abuse  each  other, 
and  the  Slave  Power,  as  a  matter  of  course,  takes 
advantage  of  our  folly.  That  evil  power  is  only 
strong  through  our  dissensions.  It  could  do  no- 


POLITICAL  ADVICE  383 

thing  against  a  united  North.  The  one  indispen- 
sable thing  for  us  is  Union.  Can  we  not  have  it  ? 
Can  we  not  set  an  example  in  this  very  neigh- 
borhood, —  Whigs,  Democrats,  Free-Soilers,  and 
Americans,  joining  hands  in  defense  of  our  com- 
mon liberties  ?  We  must  forget,  forgive,  and 
UNITE.  I  feel  a  solemn  impression  that  the  pres- 
ent opportunity  is  the  last  that  will  be  offered  us 
for  the  peaceful  and  constitutional  remedy  of  the 
evil  which  afflicts  us.  The  crisis  in  our  destiny 
has  come  :  the  hour  is  striking  of  our  final  and  ir- 
revocable choice.  God  grant  that  it  may  be  right- 
fully made.  Let  us  not  be  betrayed  into  threats. 
Leave  violence  where  it  belongs,  with  the  wrong- 
doer. It  is  worse  than  folly  to  talk  of  fighting 
Slavery,  when  we  have  not  yet  agreed  to  vote 
against  it.  Our  business  is  with  poll-boxes,  not 
cartridge-boxes ;  with  ballots,  not  bullets.  The 
path  of  duty  is  plain  :  God's  providence  calls  us  to 
walk  in  it.  Let  me  close  by  repeating,  Forget, 
forgive,  and  UNITE." 

In  a  letter  to  Emerson  dated  June  13,  1856, 
Mr.  Whittier  urged  him  to  attend  the  convention 
that  nominated  Fremont.  He  wrote  :  "I  see  this 
morning  that  Governor  Boutwell  is  not  able  to 
attend  the  Philadelphia  convention.  I  believe  thoti 
art  one  of  the  substitutes,  and  I  drop  this  line  to 
urge  thee  to  go  in  his  place.  It  is  a  great  occa- 
sion :  the  most  important  public  duty  which  can 
occur  in  a  lifetime.  By  all  means,  go.  A  thou- 
sand thanks  for  thy  speech  at  the  Concord  meet- 

ing!'; 

Elizabeth  Whittier  was  in  full  sympathy  with 


384  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

her  brother  in  his  political  and  anti-slavery  work. 
In  a  letter  to  her  friend  Lucy  Larcom,  written 
June  19,  1856,  she  says :  — 

"  Our  poor  land  !  What  can  we  do  ?  1  know 
what  thee  can  do  —  write  a  ringing  song  for  free- 
dom and  Fremont.  Fremont  is  my  hero  of  years ; 
his  wild  ranger  life  has  had  the  greatest  charm  for 
me.  I  used  to  envy  Kit  Carson,  who  was  always 
near  him,  helping  bravely  in  the  trials  and  dangers 
of  his  young  leader.  I  wish  I  was  somebody  —  I 
would  do  great  things  now  —  write  songs,  first  of 
all.  Will  not  some  one  set  the  present  heart-beat 
of  the  people  to  music  ?  Those  were  dark  days 
for  Greenleaf,  when  his  noblest  and  dearest  friend 
was  in  great  danger.  I,  too,  passed  under  the 
shadow.  Sumner's  position  seems  very  grand  and 
solemn  —  the  charged  prophet  of  freedom.  His 
great  work  is  before  him." 

This  call  for  a  campaign  song  was  responded  to 
by  Miss  Larcom.  It  is  easy  to  believe  that  Eliza- 
beth's enthusiasm  was  also  the  inspiration  of  her 
brother's  political  work  in  the  same  year.  In 
addition  to  the  deep  interest  Mr.  Whittier  took  in 
the  contest  for  Free  Soil  involved  in  the  Fremont 
campaign  of  1856,  was  a  strong  personal  feeling 
for  the  "  Pathfinder,"  whose  way  across  the  conti- 
nent he  had  followed  with  the  enthusiasm  and 
sympathy  he  gave  to  all  explorers.  He  hardly 
needed  the  summons  Charles  A.  Dana,  then  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  "  New  York  Tribune,"  sent  him 
to  write  a  campaign  song  for  his  favorite.  Dana 
wrote,  under  date  of  June  8,  1856  :  "  A  powerful 
means  of  exciting  and  maintaining  the  spirit  of 
freedom  in  the  coming  decisive  contest  must  be 


CAMPAIGN  SONGS  385 

songs.  If  we  are  to  conquer,  as  I  trust  in  God  we 
are,  a  great  deal  must  be  done  by  that  genial  and 
inspiring  stimulus.  They  should  be  written  to 
popular  and  stirring  tunes,  such  as  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner,  God  Save  the  King,  the  Marseil- 
laise, Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,  Old  Dan  Tucker, 
and  the  like.  In  this  case  we  of  course  appeal  to 
you  for  help."  In  response  to  this  call  from  Mr. 
Dana,  Whittier  wrote  several  lyrics,  of  which  one 
is  here  given,  written  to  be  sung  to  the  music  of 
"  Suoni  la  Tromba  "  in  "  I  Puritani  :"— 

"  Sound  now  the  trumpet  warningly ! 
The  storm  is  rolling1  nearer, 
The  hour  is  striking  clearer, 
In  the  dusky  dome  of  sky. 
If  dark  and  wild  the  morning  be, 
A  darker  morn  before  us 
Shall  fling  its  shadows  o'er  us 

If  we  let  the  hour  go  by. 
Sound  we  then  the  trumpet  chorus  I 
Sound  the  onset  wild  and  high  1 
Country  and  Liberty ! 
Freedom  and  Victory ! 
These  words  shall  be  our  cry,  — 
Fre'mont  and  Victory ! 

"  Sound,  sound  the  trumpet  fearlessly  1 
Each  arm  its  vigor  lending, 
Bravely  with  wrong  contending, 
And  shouting  Freedom's  cry! 
The  Kansas  homes  stand  cheerlessly, 
The  sky  with  flame  is  ruddy, 
The  prairie  turf  is  bloody, 

Where  the  brave  and  gentle  die. 
Sound  the  trumpet  stern  and  steady  ! 
Sound  the  trumpet  strong  and  high  1 
Country  and  Liberty  I 
Freedom  and  Victory ! 
These  words  shall  be  our  cry,  — 
Fre'mont  and  Victory ! 


386  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

"  Sound  now  the  trumpet  cheerily  ! 
Nor  dream  of  Heaven's  forsaking 
The  issue  of  its  making, 

That  Right  with  Wrong  must  try. 
The  cloud  that  hung  so  drearily 
The  Northern  winds  are  breaking  ; 
The  Northern  Lights  are  shaking 

Their  fire-flags  in  the  sky. 
Sound  the  signal  of  awaking ; 
Sound  the  onset  wild  and  high  I 
Country  and  Liberty  ! 
Freedom  and  Victory ! 
These  words  shall  be  our  cry,  — 
Fremont  and  Victory !  " 

At  a  Fremont  meeting  in  Amesbury  in  July, 
1856,  Mr.  Whittier  was  chairman  of  a  committee 
on  resolutions,  and  introduced  a  series  which  ex- 
press the  belief  that  "  the  Divine  Providence  has 
not  mocked  us  with  this  great  occasion,  without 
the  means  to  meet  it."  And  Fremont  is  spoken  of 
as  "  a  man  whose  romantic  achievements  stir  the 
blood  of  the  young,  and  whose  modesty,  prudence, 
and  sound  principles  commend  him  to  the  favor  of 
the  conservative,  as  one  whose  middle  years  are 
rich  in  varied  experience,  and  to  whom  wisdom  is 
gray  hairs,  and  an  unspotted  life  old  age." 

In  a  moment  of  sanguine  hope  of  the  success 
of  the  Free-Soil  movement  in  1856,  Mr.  Whittier 
wrote  to  Moses  A.  Cartland  :  "  Ah  me  !  I  wish 
I  had  strength  to  do  what  I  see  should  be  done ! 
But  all  I  can  do  shall  be  done.  I  am  not  apt  to 
be  very  sanguine,  but  I  certainly  have  strong  hopes 
of  Fremont's  election.  I  think  I  see  the  finger 
of  Providence  in  his  nomination.  It  appeals  to  all 
that  is  good  and  generous  in  Young  America.  It 
touches  the  popular  heart."  On  the  same  sheet 


A   PROPHECY  OF  WAR  387 

his  sister  Elizabeth  wrote,  beginning  with  a  refer- 
ence to  the  assault  upon  Sumner :  "  What  sad, 
strange  times  are  these !  We  have  felt  that  the 
splendid  life,  so  precious,  has  been  in  extreme  dan- 
ger. And  then,  poor  Kansas!  With  the  noble 
men  and  women  doing  far  more  than  the  old  times 
ever  called  for,  it  would  be  very  dark  and  sad, 
only  for  the  hope  we  have  in  our  brave  young 
leader.  The  music  of  Freedom  is  in  his  very 
name.  We  shall  surely  find  our  way  again,  with 
Fremont  at  our  head.  I  send  thee  this  Quaker 
song  of  Greenleaf 's  —  it  was  sung  at  our  Fremont 
meeting."  The  song  which  was  inclosed  has  not 
been  found  or  identified.  This  letter  was  written 
in  July,  and  "  Sound  the  Trumpet  "  was  not  pub- 
lished until  September. 

The  poem  "  What  of  the  Day  ?  "  was  written  in 
the  height  of  the  excitement  of  the  presidential 
contest,  when  the  friends  of  Freedom  were  feeling 
somewhat  confident  of  winning  the  day.  It  shows 
that  Whittier  did  not  share  the  bright  hopes  of 
those  who  expected  to  crush  the  barbaric  institu- 
tion of  slavery  without  resort  to  anything  harsher 
than  the  ballot.  There  is  in  it  a  prophetic  inti- 
mation of  the  deadly  war  which  was  to  rage  five 
years  later,  and  he  expresses  his  gratitude  that  he 
had  lived  to  take  part  in  the  preparatory  struggle, 
while  the  gathering  hosts  were  in  "  the  Valley  of 
Decision : "  — 

"  I  fain  would  thank  Thee  that  my  mortal  life 

Has  reached  the  hour  (albeit  through  care  and  pain) 
When  Good  and  Evil,  as  for  final  strife, 

Close  dim  and  vast  on  Armageddon's  plain ; 

And  Michael  and  his  angels  once  again  (•- 


388  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

Drive  howling1  back  the  Spirits  of  the  Night. 

Oh,  for  the  faith  to  read  the  signs  aright 

And  from  the  angle  of  Thy  perfect  sight 
See  Truth's  white  banner  floating  on  before, 

And  the  Good  Cause,  despite  of  venal  friends 

And  base  expedients,  move  to  noble  ends : 

See  Peace  with  Freedom  make  to  Time  amends, 
And,  through  its  cloud  of  dust,  the  threshing-floor, 

Flailed  by  the  thunder,  heaped  with  chaffless  grain  !  " 

The  other  poems  which  belong  to  this  campaign 
are  "  The  Pass  of  the  Sierra,"  "  To  Pennsylva- 
nia," "  A  Song  for  the  Time,"  and  the  song  begin- 
ning, "  Beneath  thy  Skies,  November."  The  fol- 
lowing interesting  reference  to  "  The  Pass  of  the 
Sierra  "  is  made  in  a  letter  written  by  Jessie  Benton 
Fremont  to  Mr.  Whittier,  from  Pocaho,  N.  Y., 
March  5,  1868:  — 

"  The  General  had  a  case  before  the  Supreme 
Court  which  has  kept  him  some  weeks  in  Washing- 
ton, and  yesterday,  when  he  made  time  for  a  day 
at  home  with  us,  among  other  things  he  had  to  tell 
us  was  that  a  young  lady  has  been  introduced  to 
him  who  had  been  on  quite  a  tour  in  the  Califor- 
nia mountains,  —  to  the  Yo  Semite,  and  into  the 
Sierra  Nevada.  The  point  of  it  to  us  was  that 
she  told  the  General  that  on  the  first  night  they 
camped  out  in  the  Yo  Semite  mountains  she  could 
not  sleep  for  the  wildness  and  beauty  made  by 
the  '  camp-fire's  wall  of  dark.'  When  we  lived 
two  dreary  years  of  enforced  patience,  waiting  for 
the  law's  delay,  in  that  same  mountain  country,  I 
cut  out  and  pasted  to  the  wall,  by  the  General's 
dressing-glass,  where  he  had  to  see  it  daily,  those 
lines  of  yours.  Many  and  many  a  time  when  the 


PRO-SLAVERY  POSTMASTERS          389 

troubles  of  business  depressed  him,  these  words 
with  their  grand  ideas,  and  the  memories  of  a 
nobler  life,  put  fresh  heart  into  him.  The  young 
lady's  quotation  [from  "  The  Pass  of  the  Sierra  "] 
reminded  us  of  those  times,  and  we  talked  them 
over,  sitting  again  by  a  country  home  fireside  — 
the  wood  fire,  the  dogs  lying  on  the  hearth,  the 
pines  loaded  with  snow,  all  as  it  used  to  be  in  the 
mountains,  but  within  —  health  and  peace  and 
rest." 

The  earnest  abolitionists  of  these  days  made 
public  the  confession  of  their  faith  in  every  pos- 
sible way.  One  device  was  to  print  anti-slavery 
pictures  and  mottoes  upon  the  envelopes  of  their 
letters,  which  gave  offense  to  postmasters,  who  were 
usually  pro-slavery  in  their  sentiments,  and  there 
was  complaint  that  many  letters  adorned  with 
these  "  incendiary  "  legends  failed  to  reach  their 
destination.  During  the  Kansas  troubles  the 
phrase  "Border  Ruffian"  came  to  be  applied  to 
the  party  of  the  administration.  This  explains  an 
allusion  in  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Whittier 
to  Lydia  Maria  Child,  written  June  12,  1856  :  — 

"  Thy  book,  most  welcome  of  itself,  was  re- 
ceived a  day  or  two  ago,  with  the  kind  note  accom- 
panying it.  I  have  never  received  the  letter  to 
which  thee  alluded.  The  Border  Ruffian  official, 
perhaps,  withheld  it  on  account  of  its  '  image  and 
superstition.9  I  shall  try  and  find  it,  however,  for 
I  am  not  willing  to  lose  a  word  of  love  and  kind- 
ness from  one  I  have  so  long  loved  and  honored.  I 
the  more  regret  the  destruction  of  the  letter,  as 
I  see  by  thy  note  that  my  silence  gave  thee  pain. 


890  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

God  forbid  that  I  should  forget  or  neglect  an  early 
and  much  loved  friend  !  When  we  have  reached 
middle  years,  and  begin  to  tread  the  sunset  declen- 
sion of  life,  it  is  not  easy  to  make  new  friends  or 
give  up  old  ones.  Long  before  I  knew  thee  I  had 
read  thy  writings,  and  honored  thee  for  thy  noble 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  Since  then  I  have 
had  no  occasion  to  qualify  my  respect  and  admira- 
tion, or  to  regard  thy  friendship  as  anything  less 
than  one  of  the  blessings  which  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence has  bestowed  upon  me  —  in  more  than  com- 
pensation for  whatever  trifling  sacrifices  I  have 
made  for  the  welfare  of  my  fellow-men." 

The  following  letter  to  Mrs.  Child  was  written 
in  reply  to  one  suggesting  that  he  offer  consola- 
tion to  a  mutual  friend  then  in  affliction :  "  I 
thank  thee  for  thy  kind  letter.  I  had  before  seeing 
thee  anticipated  thy  suggestion  as  respects  Mrs. 

L .  I  called  on  her  just  as  she  was  leaving 

Beverly,  urged  to  do  so  by  an  impulse  which  I 
could  not  resist.  Her  great  sorrow  and  its  holy 
consolations  deeply  impressed  me.  I  was  truly 
glad  to  meet  thee,  in  Boston.  It  is  the  pleasantest 
reminiscence  of  my  visit.  My  sister  joins  with  me 
in  hoping  we  may  see  thee  under  our  roof." 

The  poem  "  The  Mayflowers "  was  written  in 
1856,  and  the  concluding  stanzas  of  it  show  that 
a  thought  of  the  impending  presidential  campaign 
Was  in  the  poet's  mind  as  he  wrote  it :  — 

"  The  Pilgrim's  wild  and  wintry  day 

Its  shadow  round  us  draws  ; 
The  Mayflower  of  his  stormy  bay, 
Our  Freedom's  struggling  cause. 


"THE  MAYFLOWERS"  391 

"But  warmer  suns  erelong  shall  bring 

To  life  the  frozen  sod  ; 

And  through  dead  leaves  of  hope  shall  spring 
Afresh  the  flowers  of  God !  " 

This  poem  was  suggested  by  a  gift  of  may- 
flowers  sent  Mr.  Whittier  by  a  friend  residing 
in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  on  the  30th  of  April,  1856. 
The  note  accompanying  the  flowers  has  this  pas- 
sage, from  which  the  poem  grew :  "  You  know 
the  mayflower  with  us  is  the  flower,  and  all  our 
people  gather  them  at  this  season  and  send  them 
to  their  friends  who  have  them  not.  There  is 
such  meaning  in  the  mayflower  to  all  descendants 
of  the  Pilgrims  and  to  all  lovers  of  freedom." 

After  the  election,  he  wrote  the  "  Song  inscribed 
to  the  Fremont  Clubs,"  in  which  he  took  a  cheer- 
ful view  of  the  situation,  foretelling  the  success 
that  was  to  come  in  1860  :  — 

"  For  God  be  praised  !  New  England 

Takes  once  more  her  ancient  place ; 
Again  the  Pilgrim  banner 

Leads  the  vanguard  of  the  race. 

"  Then  sound  again  the  bugles, 
Call  the  muster-roll  anew ; 
If  months  have  well-nigh  won  the  field, 
What  may  not  four  years  do  ?  " 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Mussey  the  plates  and 
copyright  of  the  illustrated  edition  of  Whittier's 
poems  came  into  the  hands  of  Sanborn,  Carter, 
Bazin  &  Co.  In  185J,  Mr.  Whittier,  who  was 
pleased  with  the  blue  and  gold  edition  of  Long- 
fellow, wished  to  make  a  complete  collection  of  his 
own  works,  to  be  published  in  the  same  neat  and 


392  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

popular  form.  He  had  written  much  since  he  had 
sold  his  copyrights  of  all  earlier  poems  to  Mussey, 
but  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  regain  posses- 
sion of  these  old  copyrights  before  the  new  com- 
plete edition  could  be  published.  He  had  not  the 
means  at  the  time  to  make  the  purchase,  but  the 
matter  was  negotiated  for  him  by  Mr.  Fields,  and 
the  blue  and  gold  edition  was  published  in  1857. 
The  first  correspondence  in  regard  to  it  which  is 
before  us  is  a  letter  of  Whittier's  dated  January 
4,  probably  written  upon  receipt  of  Longfellow's 
blue  and  gold  volumes :  "  Longfellow's  poems  are 
always  welcome.  I  like  your  new  edition  exceed- 
ingly, and  wish  some  means  can  be  devised  to  get 
my  verses  into  a  similar  shape.  I  wish  I  could 
get  hold  of  the  Mussey  volume.  I  would  prefer 
to  have  one  publisher,  of  course.  ...  A  great 
many  thanks,  dear  F.,  for  thy  kind  response  to 
my  verses  ["  The  Last  Walk  in  Autumn  "].  The 
poem  was  written  for  thee  and  such  as  thee,  for 
the  friends  the  good  God  has  given  me.  I  did 
not  expect  the  public  at  large  to  see  much  in  it. 
The  weather  deals  harshly  with  me,  and  I  cannot 
leave  home  without  suffering  a  great  deal.  The 
worst  of  it  is  that  a  large  part  of  the  time  I  can 
neither  write  nor  read." 

Fields  replied  in  regard  to  the  Mussey  book,  on 
the  12th  of  January :  "  I  have  been  trying  for  a 
long  time  to  get  that  big  volume  of  your  poems 
out  of  Mussey's  hands,  with  reference  to  bringing 
you  out  complete,  as  we  have  done  Longfellow. 
Your  poems  are  now  held  by  Sanborn,  Carter, 
Bazin  &  Co.,  the  successors  of  Mussey,  and  1 


NEW  EDITION  OF  HIS  POEMS        393 

have  failed  as  yet  to  bring  them  to  terms.  In 
whatever  I  have  attempted  to  do,  I  have  had 
your  interest  in  mind.  I  am  still  negotiating, 
and  hope  I  may  yet  be  successful.  You  had 
better  not  write  to  them  at  present  on  the  sub- 
ject." 

In  a  few  weeks  the  matter  was  arranged,  and 
Mr.  Whittier  at  once  set  about  the  revision  of  his 
works.  On  the  5th  of  March  he  wrote  :  — 

"  I  have  marked  for  omission  some  eight  or  ten 
pieces,  and  have  a  great  desire  to  wipe  out  others. 
Indeed,  if  I  could  have  my  way  I  would  strike  out 
the  long  Indian  poem.  In  other  words,  I  would 
kill  Mogg  Megone  over  again.  I  think  the  poem 
has  some  degree  of  merit,  but  it  is  not  in  good 
taste,  and  the  subject  is  by  no  means  such  as  I 
would  now  choose.  I  have  objections  to  it  not 
merely  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  but  a  moral 
one  also.  But  I  refer  the  matter  to  thee,  whether 
Mogg  can  be  omitted.  I  send  an  ambrotype  just 
taken  in  this  village,  which  my  friends  think  an 
excellent  likeness,  barring  a  slight  grip  of  the 
mouth,  giving  it  a  little  twist  by  way  of  variety. 
Never  mind  that ;  twists  are  natural  to  men  of 
one  idea." 

The  portrait  in  the  first  volume  of  the  blue  and 
gold  edition  is  from  the  ambrotype  to  which  refer- 
ence is  made  in  the  letter  just  quoted.  On  the 
llth  of  March  he  wrote  to  Fields,  who  had  objected 
to  the  omissions  he  proposed  :  — 

"  So,  then,  I  must  still  carry  the  burden  of  my 
poetical  sins  !  Is  there  no  way  to  lay  the  ghosts 
of  unlucky  rhymes  ?  As  for  Mogg  Megone,  he  is 


394  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

very  far  from  pleasant  company,  but  I  see  by  thy 
letter  that  it  is  idle  to  think  of  shaking  the  tough 
old  rascal  off.  Let  him  ride  then — bad  luck  to 
the  ugly  face  of  him !  I  had  no  business  to  make 
him,  and  it  is  doubtless  poetical  justice  that  he 
should  haunt  me  like  another  Frankenstein.  But 
I  insist  on  dropping  '  The  Response,'  '  Stanzas 
for  the  Times,  1844,'  '  Address  at  the  Opening 
of  Pennsylvania  Hall,'  and  *  The  Album.'  Their 
place  is  more  than  filled  by  the  pieces  added 
and  sent  with  the  book.  I  have  some  eight  or 
ten  pieces  written  within  the  past  year  which  I 
will  send  as  soon  as  I  can  get  them  together.  .  .  . 
[He  refers  again  to  the  ambrotype  sent,  from 
which  to  engrave  a  portrait.]  The  ambrotype 
process  gives  the  hair  and  complexion  a  blanched 
look,  whereas  my  hair  is  black  and  but  sprinkled 
with  gray  sufficiently  to  give  me  the  external  sign 
of  wisdom." 

The  four  poems  named  in  this  letter,  which  he 
insists  on  dropping,  are  omitted  from  the  blue  and 
gold  volumes,  but  two  of  them  may  be  found  in 
the  edition  of  1888.  Of  these  two  one  is  the 
"Address  at  the  Opening  of  Pennsylvania  Hall," 
and  the  other  is  "  Stanzas  for  the  Times,  1844," 
which  is  now  entitled  "  The  Sentence  of  John  L. 
Brown." 

Even  when  Whittier  was  in  his  most  pressing 
pecuniary  straits,  he  was  devising  liberal  things 
for  his  friends  who  were  more  needy  than  he.  Be- 
side putting  his  hand  in  his  own  pocket,  he  called 
upon  his  more  prosperous  friends  for  contribu- 
tions, and  among  those  upon  whom  he  found  he 


CHARACTERISTIC  GENEROSITY       395 

could  always  rely  were  Mr.  Fields,  his  publisher, 
and  Mr.  Haskell,  editor  of  the  Boston  "  Evening 
Transcript."  In  later  years,  George  W.  Childs,  of 
Philadelphia,  with  characteristic  generosity  desired 
Whittier  to  draw  upon  him  for  any  charity  in 
which  he  was  interested.  Here  is  a  letter  to, 
Fields  of  May  1,  1857,  asking  help  for  a  friend 
who  had  been  dear  to  Whittier  from  childhood :  — 

"  As  thee  is  not  one  who  wearies  in  well-doing, 
let  me  ask  of  thee  to  see  friend  Haskell  of  the 
4  Transcript,'  and  ask  him  to  help  set  on  foot  a 

subscription  for  the  benefit  of ,  the  historian, 

who  is  now  sick  in  mind  and  body,  at  W.  A 
kinder  -  hearted,  quainter,  and  more  genial  man 
never  lived  than  he.  He  has  done  a  great  deal  of 
good  in  collecting  material  for  the  future  historian 
and  novelist.  Let  the  subscription  take  the  shape 
of  a  testimonial  for  his  eminent  services  as  a  his- 
torian and  antiquarian.  If  Haskell  will  act  as 
treasurer,  I  will  send  my  subscription  to  him." 

Fields  replied  the  same  day :  — 

"  I  will  speak  to  Haskell  to-morrow  about  poor 

Mr. ,  whom  I  never  saw  but  once  or  twice ; 

but  as  he  is  your  friend,  he  shall  have  five  dollars 
from  a  friend  of  yours,  whose  name  is  synonymous 
with  Meadows.  I  will  stir  Haskell  up  to  write  of 
him  in  the  '  Transcript,' 

"  '  And  he  shall  say  a  good  word  for  him, 

Igo  and  ago ; 

Else  may  Old  Niek  to  shoe-strings  chew  him, 
Irani,  coram,  dago.' 

Let  me  whisper  to  you,  if  at  any  time  you  find  your 
pockets  light,  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  per- 


896  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

sonally  to  shovel  in  a  few  '  rocks,'  to  be  returned 
at  any  time  when  most  convenient  to  you  —  or  if 
they  should  never  come  back  it  would  be  better 
still.  My  hand  is  still  lame,  but  I  can  sign  a  check 
at  any  time,  if  a  friend  needs  it." 

To  this  Whittier  replied  :  — 

"  I  am  sorry  for  thy  lame  hand,  but  be  thankful 
that  thee  are  not  an  old  bachelor,  and  lame  all 
over  with  rheumatism,  as  I  am.  Emerson's  '  May 
Day '  is  charming,  —  full  of  wisdom  and  sweetness. 
Thy  parody  of  Captain  Grose  set  me  rhyming 
when  I  sat  down  to  write  to  thee  :  — 

"  Dear  F.  will  take  a  friendly  pride  in 
The  absent  hand  and  heart  confiding, 
And  if  then  any  are  deriding 

That  plea  of  Haskell's, 
We  '11  count  the  cautious  robes  they  hide  in 

As  sheer  wrap  rascals  ! 

"  Oh,  well-paid  author,  fat-fed  scholar, 
Whose  pockets  jingle  with  the  dollar ! 
No  sheriff's  hand  upon  your  collar, 

No  duns  to  bother, 
Think  on  't ;  a  tithe  of  what  you  swallow 

Would  save  your  brother ! 

"  More  blest  is  he  among  the  living 
Who  gives  than  he  who  is  receiving : 
And  that  last  robe  which  Time  is  weaving 

To  bear  us  off  in 
Shall  be  the  lighter  for  our  giving 

A  lift  to  - —  . 

"  And  now  Heaven  help  the  old  and  poor 
And  keep  the  gaunt  wolf  from  his  door  I 
I  send  for  lack  of  silver  ore 

These  paper  shadows : 
Thou  'It  add,  I  'm  sure,  as  many  more, 

My  dear  friend  —  Meadows. 


James  T.  Fields 


"THE  SYCAMORES"  397 

"  So  shall  the  public  crowd  and  mingle 
Where'er  thou  hangest  out  thy  shingle, 
And  all  the  joys  the  happy  ingle 

Of  human  love  yields 
Be  thine,  and  blessings  never  single 
Add  Fields  to  Fields !" 

A  few  days  later  Mr.  Whittier  wrote :  "  I  am 
rejoiced  to  hear  of  the  success  of  the  subscription. 

Some  ladies  from have  just  called  on  me  with 

the  agreeable  intelligence  that  our  worthy  old 
friend  has  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  return 
to  his  home.  If  now  we  can  raise  $200  for  him  it 
will  enable  him  to  hold  the  old  house  where  his 
ancestors  for  many  generations  have  lived,  and  set 
the  old  man  on  his  legs  again,  and  warm  and 
gladden  his  heart.  His  bodily  and  mental  health 
seems  now  very  nearly  restored,  and  he  fully  ap- 
preciates every  kindness." 

The  ballad  of  "  The  Sycamores,"  which  tells  the 
legend  of  the  row  of  trees  planted  by  the  merry 
Irishman,  Hugh  Tallant,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Merrimac,  below  Haverhill,  was  published  in 
1857.  Very  soon  after  its  publication  a  descend- 
ant of  Tallant,  Caroline  L.  Tallant  of  Nantucket, 
Mass.,  wrote  to  Mr.  Whittier  making  inquiries. 
As  first  printed,  the  name  was  spelled  "  Talent," 
and  the  writer  of  the  letter  was  not  quite  sure  that 
her  ancestor  was  the  person  referred  to  in  the 
poem.  She  wrote  for  information  on  this  point, 
and  added  :  —  ii 

"  It  is  traditionary  lore  in  our  family,  that  three 
Tallant  brothers,  of  whom  one  was  Hugh,  came 
over  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  that  from  them  descended  all  who  bear  the 


398  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

name  of  Tallant  in  America.  My  grandfather, 
Andrew  Tallant,  was  the  son  of  Hugh.  He  died 
last  spring  in  Pelham,  N.  H.,  on  the  old  homestead 
which  was  left  him  by  his  father.  I  remember 
having  seen  one  other  son  of  Hugh.  When  I  was 
quite  young  one  of  my  uncles  took  me  to  ride  from 
Concord  to  Pelham,  and  on  the  way  he  stopped  at 
an  old  brown  house,  quite  in  the  woods,  that  I 
might  see  his  uncle  Hugh.  That  Hugh  Tallant 
was  living,  when  last  we  knew  anything  of  him,  in 
Pembroke,  N.  H.,  and  must  be  now  about  eighty- 
eight  years  old.  Then  my  uncle  has  told  me  of 
another  uncle  of  his,  George,  whom  he  remembers 
as  having  some  skill  in  '  fiddle '  playing.  That  is 
one  of  the  links  in  my  chain  of  evidence,  because 
he  must  have  inherited  the  gift  from  his  father. 
Hugh  and  George  are  all  my  grandfather's  bro- 
thers of  whom  I  know.  On  the  back  of  a  coat 
of  arms,  I  have  found  the  date  of  Hugh  Tallant' s 
death  as  1795,  and  his  supposed  age  108  or  110 
years.  My  grandfather  used  to  tell  us  story- 
loving  children  that  his  father  was  a  '  spry  old 
man  '  —  '  over  a  hundred  when  he  died,'  and  then 
he  would  relate  to  our  great  pride  and  satisfaction, 
how  he  had  seen  his  father,  when  over  seventy 
years  old,  leap  over,  by  putting  his  hand  on  the 
neck  of  one  of  them,  two  horses  placed  side  by 
side.  He  used  to  tell  us  too  that  his  father  saw  j 
the  '  Battle  of  the  Boyne '  in  old  Ireland,  and 
Hugh  Tallant  was  almost  as  much  a  hero  for 
admiration  as  Washington.  But  it  was  with  young 
eyes  he  saw  the  bloodshed  of  his  countrymen,  for 
he  was  held  a  child  in  arms  on  the  battle-field. 


HUGH  TALLANT  399 

The  battle  of  the  Boyne  was  July  1,  1690,  which 
would  make  Hugh  Tallant  only  105  in  1795  —  not 
agreeing  exactly  with  the  statement  on  the  coat  of 
arms.  Your  ballad  says,  — 

" '  One  long  century  hath  been  numbered, 

And  another  half  way  told, 
Since  the  rustic  Irish  gleeman 

Broke  for  them  the  virgin  mould.' 

"  Hugh  Tallant,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
was  an  Irish  youth  of  seventeen  or  twenty,  with  all 
the  poetry  of  his  nature  fresh  and  un crushed  within 
him  —  and  so  it  was  just  the  age  for  him  to  dis- 
close his  musical  and  fun-loving  disposition.  Did 
your  Hugh  wander  round  from  town  to  town  with 
his  fiddle  and  his  pack  ?  I  know  scarcely  anything 
excepting  what  I  have  told  of  my  great-grand- 
father. He  lived  in  Atkinson  at  one  time,  and 
then  he  lived  in  Pelham.  He  owned  at  one  time 
thousands  of  acres  of  land  in  and  about  the  latter 
town,  but  he  sold  them  carelessly  away  for  almost 
nothing." 

To  this  Mr.  Whittier  replied :  — 

"Thy  letter  took  me  almost  as  much  by  sur- 
prise as  the  entrance  of  the  veritable  and  venerable 
Hugh  himself  would  have  done.  When  I  wrote 
the  poem  in  question,  I  never  expected  that  a  fair 
descendant  of  the  Milesian  tree-planter  would  be 
called  up.  In  fact,  Hugh  Talent  was  to  me  a  pleas- 
ant myth,  a  shadowy  phantom  of  tradition  only. 
Since  receiving  thy  letter  I  have  ascertained  for  a 
certainty  that  the  Hugh  of  my  ballad  and  thy 
great-grandfather  are  one  and  the  same.  I  am  not 
sure  of  the  date  of  planting  the  trees,  but  it  was 


400  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

certainly  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Hugh  at  that  time  was  a  resident  of  Haverhill,  on 
the  Merrimac,  now  a  town  of  some  ten  thousand 
inhabitants.  The  trees,  twenty  of  which  are  now 
standing,  he  planted  on  the  river  bank,  before  the 
mansion  of  Colonel  Richard  Saltonstall,  brother  of 
Governor  Saltonstall,  of  Connecticut. 

"  The  tradition  of  him  is  pretty  correctly  given  in 
the  ballad.  After  leaving  Atkinson  [N.  H.] ,  then 
a  part  of  Haverhill,  he  moved  to  Pelham  or  Wind- 
ham,  became  a  considerable  landholder,  and  was 
noted  for  his  love  of  fun  and  lawsuits.  He  took 
the  Tory  side  in  the  Revolution,  was  outlawed, 
shot  a.t,  and  driven  off  by  his  neighbors,  but  soon 
managed  to  return.  These  latter  facts  I  have  just 
learned.  I  wish  they  had  been  before  me,  as  well 
as  those  of  thy  own  letter,  when  I  was  writing 
'  The  Sycamores.'  The  trees  are  about  twelve 
miles  up  the  river  from  my  residence  [in  Ames- 
bury]  .  I  should  like  to  show  them  to  a  descendant 
of  the  merry  troubadour  who  planted  them.  I 
give  the  name  as  it  stands  in  the  Haverhill  records, 
—  Talent.  I  presume  it  should  be  Tallant.  Of 
course,  thou  art  at  liberty  to  alter  it  in  the  poem. 
The  incident  of  Washington  is  true." 

Miss  Caroline  Tallant  made  the  following  lively 
response : — 

"  Very  few  of  old  Hugh's  many-acred  farms 
have  descended  to  us,  but  I  am  more  than  content 
with  young  Hugh's  bequest  to  me.  How  thought- 
ful in  the  youth  to  look  down  the  long  future 
and  know  of  the  poet  yet  to  come,  whose  song  and 
own  handwriting  and  special  message  I  should  be 


HUGH  TALLANT  401 

most  pleased  with,  and  then  with  his  Irish  wit 
to  set  about  gaining  them  for  me  by  planting  trees 
on  the  river-side.  My  matronly  sister  insists  upon 
dashing  my  enthusiasm  by  reminding  me  that  pos- 
sibly Hugh  may  have  planted  the  trees  with  no 
higher  aim  than  that  of  earning  his  dinner  by  his 
labor.  I  scorn  that  idea,  however,  and  will  not  be 
convinced  that  the  young  man  would  as  content- 
edly have  dug  post-holes  all  day.  He  planted  the 
trees  because  he  loved  trees  and  flowers,  and  birds, 
and  everything  beautiful,  natural,  and  free,  and  I 
am  going  to  have  him  sainted  for  it,  and  a  day 
awarded  on  the  family  calendar.  Saint  Hugh's 
day  shall  be  duly  honored  with  Thanksgiving  fes- 
tivities. His  ballad  shall  be  read,  and  we  will  not 
forget,  with  our  toast  to  his  memory,  the  memory 
of  the  singer  who  has  sung  both  of  him  and  of  the 
'  sea-beat  island, '  —  the  only  spot  we  call  our 
home." 

In  Mirick's  "  History  of  Haverhill,"  under  date 
of  1739,  may  be  found  this  item,  which  evidently 
gave  the  suggestion  of  the  ballad  to  the  poet,  as  we 
find  in  Mr.  Whittier's  copy  of  the  book  the  first 
draft  of  a  stanza  of  the  poem  written  on  the  mar- 
gin of  the  page  that  contains  this  passage  :  — 

"  About  this  time,  the  sycamore-trees,  now  stand- 
ing before  Widow  Samuel  W.  Duncan's  mansion, 
were  set  out.  The  work  was  dofne  by  one  Hugh 
Talent,  a  wanderer  from  the  green  fields  of  Erin, 
and  who  was  a  famous  fiddler.  He  lived  with 
Colonel  Richard  Saltonstall,  in  the  capacity  of 
a  servant,  and  tradition  says  that  he  frequently 
made  harmonious  sounds  with  his  cat-gut  and  rosin 


402  POETRY  AND  POLITICS 

for   the   gratification   of   the   village  swains   and 
lasses." 

In  the  edition  of  1873,  there  is  an  error  in  the 
twenty-eighth  stanza  of  "  The  Sycamores  :  "  — 

"  But  the  trees  the  gleeman  planted, 

Through  the  changes,  changeless  stand, 
As  the  marble  calm  of  Tadmor 
Marks  the  desert's  shifting  sand." 

The  word  should  be  "  mocks,"  and  this  is  the  read- 
ing in  the  latest  editions. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SANTA  CRUZ 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  DATE  stamped  below. 


100m-8,'65(F6282s8)2373 


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